Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan have been one of the most successful and popular screenwriters in Bollywood of all time. They wrote some of the most successful films in the '70s, which gave Bollywood a memorable era. Their friendship, strong bond and professional achievements have always been admired in the industry. Although, the duo separated their paths long ago, they came together when Angry Young Men series was made on them. In a new interview, its director, Namrata Rao, shared an interesting anecdote about their life.
Recently, Namrata Rao, the director of Angry Young Men, sat down for an interview with India Today. During the conversation, she revealed that several interesting anecdotes from the lives of Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan didn't make it to the series. It was about Javed Akhtar and his first marriage with Honey Irani. Namrata revealed that Javed Akhtar got cold feet before his first wedding and wanted his good friend, Salim Khan, to step in and cancel the alliance.
Namrata added that it inspired writing the story and dialogue for one of their scenes in Sholay. She explained further that when Javed Akhtar asked Salim Khan to cancel his marriage, the latter went and met his first wife, Honey Irani's mother, Perin Irani. Salim Khan tried to badmouth Javed Akhtar by mentioning his habits of consuming alcohol and playing cards. However, instead of getting angry, Perin Irani said that even though she indulged in those activities, their plan failed, and Javed Akhtar eventually married. She was quoted as saying:
"If you remember the scene where Jai goes to talk to Mausi and mentions all the vices Veeru had, the same happened in their lives. Javed saab asked Salim saab ke aap tudwa do shaadi. He did go to Honey Irani's mother Perin Irani and told her how Javed saab drinks alcohol. She replied that she does that too. When Khan said that Akhtar also plays cards, she said she likes playing with them too. So, their plan did not work out and he had to get married."
In the same interview, Namrata shared how Salim-Javed developed the popular character of 'Gabbar Singh.' She said that Salim Khan's father told him some stories of a real dacoit in Indore who was known as Gabbar Singh, who was famous for cutting the nose of people who harmed him. Eventually, those stories became the inspiration behind the iconic 'Gabbar Singh' in Sholay. In her words:
"There was a dacoit in Indore whose stories Salim saab had heard from his father. He was named Gabbar Singh, and he would cut the noses of people who he attacked. However, while writing 'Sholay,' they felt someone cutting off the nose would not have a cinematic impact, and hence they went with the arms."
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Namrata recalled working with veterans like Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan was fun. She shared that they used to laugh a lot, recalling different incidents and exchanging many stories together. The filmmaker mentioned that the duo of Salim-Javed had several funny and interesting stories to share, but it wasn't possible to add each of them to the final cut. However, someday, it could be fun to release the uncut, untold series, including those tales.
What do you think about Namrata Rao's revelations?
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