Angry Young Men director Namrata Rao reveals who convinced Salim-Javed for their docuseries: They had some reservations

The docuseries Angry Young Men chronicles the rise of the legendary screenwriters Salim-Javed, how they wrote multiple blockbusters like Sholay, Deewaar, Don, Zanjeer, and Yaadon Ki Baaraat among others, and their eventual break-up. The show marks the directorial debut of National Award-winning editor Namrata Rao. In a freewheeling conversation with DNA, Namrata shared how she became a part of Angry Young Men and who convinced Salim-Javed to document their journey in the Hindi film industry.

Namrata shared that it was Javed Akhtar's daughter and filmmaker Zoya Akhtar's idea to make a series on the screenwriters. "Zoya had this idea for a long time and we used to discuss it. I did three projects with her - Lust Stories, Ghost Stories, and Made In Heaven - as an editor. During the pandemic around December 2020, she asked me if I would like to direct it", she said. Namrata added that she had just finished the docuseries House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths as an editor, and was very happy to grab this opportunity. "I love Bollywood films, I love that time 70s-80s, and I am full filmy in that sense", she asserted.

When asked how Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar were open to the idea of a documentary on them, Namrata answered, "By the time I came on board, they had already been convinced by Zoya. They had some reservations earlier, but I think all the kids together convinced them that it would be very important to archive their work and introduce it to a younger generation. They both were happy to do it eventually." She also shared that some of the assistants who worked on Angry Young Men had not seen their films. "Because they are in their twenties right now, and they were like, 'Yeah, these are very cool characters, I want to watch Sholay.' And they watched Sholay then and they were like 'Oh, it's kind of a cool film.' I think that was the intention also somewhere", she said.

Produced by Salman Khan Films, Excel Media & Entertainment and Tiger Baby, Angry Young Men is executive produced by Salma Khan, Salman Khan, Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti. The three-episodic docuseries is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.

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