01x01 - Episode 1

[bunniefuu]

Roll cameras, guys.

Sound rolling.

Quiet, please.

After they watch this series,

Hollywood should call to say:

"We're short of stars!"

I used to think of myself

as James Dean.

Then Devdas was released

and my confusion began.

Sometimes I thought I was Devdas

and sometimes James Dean.

[Interviewer] Sir, please wipe your forehead.

That's my destiny!

It shouldn't get wiped out.

If my destiny is erased,

that'll be the end of me.

Shut the door, please.

You'll have to hide this too.

Put up a board with

an arrow pointing

to a list of my evil deeds.

- Okay then, shall we start?

- Yes.

- Are you ready?

- Yes.

Is the camera on?

All this was recorded?

You'll get me into trouble!

Without the camera rolling,

I can't be intimate!

How many men were there?

Master, there were two.

See, I've done lots

of interviews.

This is the first one that

I'm actually nervous on.

If I tell you something that

rubs them both the wrong way,

Dad and Javed saab.

I'll get beaten up at leisure!

So the first time when

I started getting importance,

I realised my father was

a celebrated writer.

When Salim Uncle and Dad were

working in the study at home,

like the kids were told:

"keep it down."

There's going to be a "sitting."

You're wondering what's a "sitting"?

Salim,

Javed

this incredible duo, brought

about a revolution

in the writing of screenplays

and dialogue.

They turned everything upside down

in the Hindi film industry.

They just gate-crashed into

the citadel of Bollywood,

which is like a fortress,

it doesn't allow new

people to come in.

They introduced

the age of the writer.

They did about

24 films together.

Out of which 22 were blockbusters.

That's a crazy strike rate!

It hasn't happened before,

I don't think it's gonna happen again.

One after one, superhit films.

The common factor- Salim-Javed.

The producers and

actors kept changing.

It could be Dharmendra, Jitendra

or Amitabh Bachchan.

Obviously, it got underlined that

these writers are special.

We were looking for you.

You were looking for me,

and I've been waiting here for you.

Give these arms to me, Thakur!

No!

Actors used to clamour and yearn

for a Salim-Javed script.

Through their short, crisp dialogue,

they imbued life

into the narrative,

into the characters

and the stories.

Amazing!

People could connect very strongly

with their characters.

They were very bold

in their approach.

They had mass appeal.

People wanted to consume

what they were writing.

Whoever has grown up

watching their films

carries a little bit of

Salim-Javed in their blood.

That writing - it was just

so powerful.

There definitely was a time

when I was in college when

I said: "Oh, this is a Salim-Javed film.

We have to go and watch it."

I admired their ability

to draw audiences,

and maybe to some extent even

envied them.

"The police of eleven countries

are looking for Don.

"It's not just difficult

to catch Don - it's impossible!"

"Till I tell you to sit,

keep standing.

"This is a police station,

not your father's house!"

I am like, yes!

"Don't dance for these dogs, Basanti."

"A scared man is a dead man."

"Today I have a building, property,

bank balance, a bungalow, cars

"What do you have?"

"I have my mother" which means:

I have nothing but I have a mother.

So, my mother's here.

A.R. Rahman can stand

at the Oscars' stage

and say: "I have my mother".

I mean one line

and it resonates across decades

and people and geographies.

They were stars.

They were writer-stars.

Once they got the success,

they were very irreverent.

And I remember still sometimes

when they would all

be praising themselves,

you know, they used to love

praising themselves.

To put it

in a very

not in a very nice way,

but they were the brats.

At a time when it was unheard of

that a writer's name

would be on a film poster

they had the gall

to hire someone to go

and just put their names

on those posters.

You want to call it confidence,

you want to call it arrogance,

whatever you want to call it.

Then they used to rub people

the wrong way.

It wasn't that they were

very humble.

They were not at all humble.

Like big stars - they refused

film offers.

"We won't write like that.

We'll do it like this!"

They had so much attitude!

Writers typically used to get

5,000 or 10,000 rupees.

Suddenly one day

we heard these writers

who are taking 250,000

to write a script!

And people wanted them.

People wanted their scripts

at any cost.

They knew it

and they took advantage

of the situation.

Dharma Productions was actually

we started with Dostana.

I remember my father coming home

and having this chat with my mom

that Salim saab and Javed saab

want 100,000 more than Bachchan.

Whatever his fees,

they'll take 100,000 more.

Can you imagine today?

And I'm giving you a parallel,

if a writer today said: "I want

a crore more than Salman Khan."

It's unheard of.

You must understand that was

the power of Salim-Javed.

In my experience,

things never go as planned.

I had so many other plans,

but nothing materialised.

My first writing experience was

writing love letters for friends.

That was the first writing experience.

I had no idea I could write.

So when I left Indore, those guys

who I wrote for were crushed!

They told me how I had

messed things up for them.

My career took off at a wedding in Indore.

Tarachand Barjatya's son

was getting married.

Many producers came

from Bombay.

I frequented a hotel where

they were all staying,

including the producer K. Amarnath

who had made many films.

He saw me and asked someone:

"Who is this boy?"

He then asked me:

"Do you want to act in films?"

I said: "I've never acted before."

He replied: "There was a first time

even for Dilip Kumar!"

No one knows acting before they start.

There's always a first time.

Then I came to Bombay

for the screen test.

Amarnath was producing Baraat.

He cast me in the role

of Ajit's younger brother.

Ajit saab was a leading actor.

His house was unoccupied,

so I stayed there initially.

He said I could stay there

till his house got sold.

It was my bad luck that

it sold very quickly.

Then I had to move to

Marina Guest House.

There were two beds in one room.

The rent was 55 rupees per month.

My first ambition was

to be able to rent the entire room

for 110. But that ambition

was never fulfilled.

A lady used to run the

Marina Guest House.

She was very strict.

I once stayed there too.

There was a small room,

Suresh Puri was his roommate.

On one side was his bed,

with his suitcase under it.

It had a common toilet.

I had no choice.

When I was leaving home

for Bombay,

my eldest brother said:

"What's the point of going there?

"You'll come running back."

You see we had a very comfortable

lifestyle at home.

We even had a servant

who poured water for us

when we were washing our faces.

I struggled so hard in Bombay

because I did not ask

my family for any money.

I could've asked them for money,

they would've given it easily.

But I never asked.

Hello?

[Shabana Azmi]

I want you to be lit properly.

Tell them my wife is saying

you better light me properly.

Speak louder so they can hear you.

Make sure that you make

my husband look very nice.

Yeah, yeah, he's looking very good.

Also, his right profile is

better than his left profile.

Excuse me, but my left profile

isn't that bad.

When you are a teenager, life is

very simple and easy, you know

and you can do anything.

That's what I believed.

I decided, after my graduation,

that I'd move to Bombay.

I'd work as an

assistant director,

hopefully, either with

Guru Dutt or Raj Kapoor.

They were the directors

I admired at that time.

And

I was sure I'd become a director myself

in a short time.

This is Natraj Studio.

When I had moved to Bombay,

it was called Kamal Studios.

This was Kamal Amrohi saab's studio.

Over there was his office.

Mahal Pictures.

I started working there

as an apprentice,

earning 50 rupees a month.

The first day I was on set

as an assistant,

a young actor was giving

a screen test.

That actor's name was

Sanjeev Kumar.

The room is now a make-up room.

Earlier it was Kamal Amrohi's

costume room.

I used to sleep there sometimes.

There was a canteen here.

I was working on Yakeen.

I met a thin modest-looking guy,

kind of cute!

It was Javed. He came to give me

the dialogue for the sh**t.

The pages were all jumbled up.

I threw them away

and scolded him:

"Put them in the right order!"

Later I wondered

why had I ticked him off.

He was just an assistant. I knew

working in films was a struggle.

I was in my father's house

for exactly 5 days

and then I went on my own.

And I lived with some friends

and

I slept at railway stations,

parks, studio compounds,

in corridors, on benches

and so on.

Sometimes I'd have to walk miles,

say from Dadar to Bandra, because

I didn't have money for the bus fare.

Sometimes I realised

I hadn't eaten for two days.

I used to always think the day

I write my autobiography,

or if someone else does,

this day would make

for an amazing moment.

This thought never crossed my mind

that I wouldn't make it.

I used to visit

the studios to meet people,

hoping to be noticed,

just like I was in Indore.

They'd make false promises saying:

"I'm starting a film in July,

"come and meet me then."

But nothing was working out.

So Salim uncle and my mother, Menaka

- Irani - at that time

unfortunately had done

a movie together,

where she was being

launched as a heroine.

This skinny Parsi girl and Salim uncle,

who my grandmother called

"The thug from Mahim",

were being launched together

in a film called Bachpan.

My granny was

a very ferocious old lady,

who was the producer of Bachpan.

She used to take a cane

and hit Salim uncle,

if he did not act well.

And of course that movie

ran all of one show, I think.

Farah's mother was the heroine

and I was the hero!

The film was doomed

from the first shot.

But in those days,

everything was overly done.

If you had to say 'No',

it was a "Nooo"!

So he couldn't do that.

That's why he was known

as a bad actor.

But if you see one or two

of his films,

he was good.

- May I go now?

- So soon?

Soon?

It's been two hours.

He's cruel.

- Who?

- The creator of time.

There's someone more cruel.

- Who?

- The creator of duty.

- There's someone crueller still.

- Who?

The creator of hearts.

In the days when

Salim saab was struggling,

the place below our building

was where he would hang out.

That's Regi House over there.

On the first floor

Salman Khan's mother,

Salma, used to live there.

I could see her from my balcony.

It started with us

exchanging glances.

She was about 17 years old

at that time

and I was 24.

We used to meet in the evenings

in the nearby lanes.

Then her family pressurised

Salma to either marry me,

or someone of their choice.

Under those circumstances,

I got married in 1964.

In 1965, Salman was born.

We didn't have much money

and I was worried about work.

So how would we manage?

Since I needed money,

I accepted anything.

I did cigarette ads,

clothing, shirts

I did everything.

We all wanted him to get

good roles and become a star.

The actor Johnny Walker

once told me to tell Salim

that the film business was bad

and tough to get into.

My brother struggled for 15 years.

I had a talent for

conceiving characters.

I could explain a character to actors

like Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan.

But I couldn't perform it myself.

I had the art of narration

and conceiving,

but I lacked the art

of projection.

I decided to stop pursuing

acting as a career,

because I realised, I'll not

be able to reach the top.

Should I tell you about an incident?

One day when I was 18, I realised

I have nothing to wear.

Now how's that possible?

Obviously, I'd been wearing

clothes for 18 years.

So how could I have

nothing to wear?

But that's how it was.

My last trousers, and the

only trousers I had,

was torn to the extent that

it couldn't be worn anymore.

And I had no other trousers.

[Interviewer] But you didn't ask for

money from your family or?

Family? Which family?

Where you grew up

with your relatives.

I had left from there long ago.

I never looked back.

Never asked them for anything.

I grew up with my aunt

and I left her for good

when I was 15.

I never asked them for help.

There was a time

he hadn't eaten a single morsel

of food for three days.

And it was raining heavily.

And from an apartment

in a nearby building,

he saw a faint light shining.

He saw that light

and said to himself:

"I wasn't born to die like this.

This time shall pass."

Sleep and hunger.

If you've been deprived

of food or sleep in your life,

it leaves a deep mark on you

that you'll never forget.

When I go to a five-star hotel,

with their large sprawling

double beds,

and sometimes when

I'm lying there

I remember coming to Bombay

in a third-class train compartment.

It used to take two days.

There was no place to sit

in the compartment.

Not even a place to lean against.

And how I was deprived of sleep

and how tired I was.

If only I had a little stretch

of that double bed then.

Sometimes I'm served

breakfast on a trolley.

Breakfast with butter, jam, half-

fried eggs, coffee.

I think do I deserve this?

Even now I think

this breakfast can't be for me.

It must be someone else's.

I can't get over that.

Prophet Muhammad once said:

"A worker must be paid his wages

before his sweat dries."

I told you about someone who once

made me wait for 8 hours,

and asked me to come back again.

When I was walking away,

the thought that crossed my mind

was not how to get back at him,

I didn't think that.

I thought I'd never do this

to anyone.

I will not do it.

They didn't blame anyone.

They thought: "This is our journey,

and we need to do this properly."

And they did that.

If you want to get back at someone,

let your work do the talking.

They lived like that.

Their work did all the talking.

- Don't you guys drink tea?- We've had tea.

I drink tea in the morning.

Two cups,

and coffee in the evening.

There are many things which come

together and make a story.

Pradeep, take all this away.

Strange coincidences, circumstances - they

are not in your control.

That's exactly how I met Salim saab.

You didn't go to steal,

you went to r*pe a girl.

Murad! Robbery is our profession.

There was a very small stunt

film called Sarhadi Lutera.

In that film, Salim saab was

playing the romantic lead.

In those days the dialogue

was delivered on set.

So the dialogue came

straight-from-the-oven,

but the director

was not happy with it.

In order to secure my job,

I offered to rewrite some lines.

The director agreed.

So, everyone then said to me:

"You should become a writer.

"Focus on writing."

Even Salim saab would say:

"You should become a writer."

He used to write stories too.

He told me a few of his stories.

They were amazing.

My first film as a writer

was released in 1969.

I wrote the Do Bhai script.

Mr Ashok Kumar bought it.

It did make some money

but wasn't a big hit

So the news spread that:

"Oh! A new writer has come"

Nothing like that happened.

As luck would have it,

I moved to Bandra,

to a room close to

Salim saab's house.

I often used to go to his house

in the evenings.

We would sit on the parapet

by the sea on Carter Road,

and discuss possible plots

and stories.

One day, S.M. Sagar,

the producer-director of Sarhadi Lutera,

came to Salim saab's house

and I happened to be there.

He told us about a story

he had bought,

but was unable to make

a full-fledged screenplay out of it.

He offered us 5000 rupees

to write it.

This was a ghost-writing job.

We weren't credited on screen.

Today's party

will decide the course of our lives.

If you're in love

with someone else,

just tell me.

I'll refuse to marry you

and you'll be free.

An assistant called Sudhir Wahi

was working on the film.

He was a wonderful man and has

contributed hugely to our lives.

He said: "You guys write very

good screenplays.

"Go and meet Sippy Films

in their new offices in Khar.

"They want to set up

a writing department

"and they're looking for new writers."

We narrated something to them.

They were convinced.

They offered us 750 rupees per month

for a trial period of 3 months,

and if things worked out: "We'll

increase your wages to a thousand."

We ended up working there for

7-8 years at 750 a month!

I was tense about playing

the widow's role. Could I do it?

Then director Ramesh Sippy

explained the role to me.

And then I was introduced

to Salim and Javed

that they were writers.

I was like okay.

There used to be a lot

of loud noise on set.

They'd call us

when the shot was ready.

But they kept discussing

the shots.

I'd ask: "What's happening?"

You know.

So they used to say

they were refining

the dialogue a little more,

to make the lines even better.

We can start a life together.

No, Ravi.

I've had to face the world

judging me.

I don't want you

to go through it too.

I am not scared

of the world, Sheetal.

One cannot stop living

for fear of being judged.

If we have the right

to cry in bad times,

it's only fair that we smile

in good times.

While working together,

we eventually became partners.

We never consciously

decided to be partners,

nor did we discuss how

we'd split the money, etc.

We were gradually

credited for our work.

So you two became friends

- while working together?

- Yes.

I had a feeling that

he was talented.

He knew the work.

And if we wrote together, it would

speed up the work, improve it.

During that time I had met Javed saab

when I was doing Seeta Aur Geeta.

Mummy!

- Mummy!

- Oh, God!

Javed was playing rummy

with all the actors on the set.

So he says: "I'm losing such a lot."

He had lost 100 or 200 rupees.

It was a lot at that time,

of course.

So he says: "You pick a card for me."

So I pulled a card for him

and it was a run in rummy card

or whatever, and he declared.

So he says: "You've pulled

such a great card for me,

"I think we are meant

for each other.

"I'm going to propose to you,

let's get married."

That's how it happened.

It's all because of the card.

But I should've realised

gambling never pays!

The quintessential

masala Hindi movie

can be traced back to Salim-Javed.

Sholay, Deewaar, Janjeer

I mean these are films, Shaan

they defined my childhood.

They defined what cinema was.

I think they'd freak out

that you called it "Janjeer"!

- Well, it's Zanjeer.

- "Zanzeer!"

- How do you say it?

- "Zanjeer."

Zanjeer!

I think they came in

at a time when

socially there was

a lot of stuff going on,

politically, socially in

the country at that point.

I think there was a lot

of discontent amongst,

you know, middle-classes,

lower classes

and they reflected that.

There was a certain artistry

in the 40s and the 30s,

the golden era

of entertainment.

It went on into the 50s.

Then post-independence, where we

actually took a holiday in cinema

was in the 60s.

All of the 60s were

these simplistic plots.

Full of songs and music

in hill stations.

If you just go into the archives,

you'll find about

500 movies like that.

Salim-Javed made a difference

to the 70s like nobody else had.

Like, they literally

created that era.

They came from outside

the movie industry.

They came with

the sentiments of that time.

They were anti-establishment

in their ethos,

they were angry

and they were angsty.

And they created an angry,

angsty, anti-establishment lead.

1970s

this was the period, you know,

when you needed somebody

to create heroes for you

who'd get things done.

Some we need some hero.

Somebody who would

clean up the system.

Salim-Javed found in the

"Angry Young Man",

the perfect representation

of dissent.

Dissent came on the streets

probably in '74 onwards.

On screen, it came probably

before that, say Zanjeer.

Sher Khan.

I am not wearing my police uniform now,

nor am I on duty.

I'm in your neighbourhood.

And I'm alone.

A new hero stormed

into the film industry

after Zanjeer.

This is a new hero.

A hero who doesn't sing songs,

doesn't romance,

doesn't break into comedy

or doesn't bullshit.

The other characters were

doing all that. But not the hero.

You be honest to the character,

without pushing the character

according to the need of your plot.

Then you can give

the character an individuality,

an authenticity and

a third dimension.

Had we got Amitabh Bachchan

to sing a few songs in Zanjeer,

you would not remember the

"Angry Young Man" today.

You might remember, in that film,

the hero Vijay sang no songs.

This was why Dev Anand

refused to act in it.

Dev Anand said:

"The audience is not going

to accept Dev without songs!"

Many lead actors refused the film.

The director Prakash Mehra

was also the producer.

It was his first production,

yet he didn't change the script.

Even though we weren't

big-shot writers then.

We only became

known after Zanjeer.

He remained loyal to the script.

It is very easy to talk

but you need guts to do it.

Prakash Mehra's anger was:

"How dare anybody do this?"

"I know this is a good story.

I know that it would make a difference."

He was angry that he got

rejected by so many people.

He had to prove a point.

Mr. Bachchan didn't have

too many choices at that time.

All his films were flopping.

Heroines didn't want to

work with him.

And, he was at his lowest ebb.

It was his luck that

Salim-Javed saw him -

they were passing by

Chandan theatre

and they said: "Let's go in and

watch Mehmood's new film."

In Bombay to Goa, he's chewing gum

and fighting.

I think he topples the guy

and he gets up

and he's still chewing gum.

And I think that confidence is

what they liked about him

and they gave himZanjeer. I mean

Hats off to everybody who took

that decision and of course, Amit-ji

who then went onto

become Vijay forever.

At a stage when you have failed

in many of the attempts that

you've made in the profession,

you actually enjoy the fact

that somebody is actually coming

to narrate something to you.

To narrate a script to you,

rather than

be a little obtuse about what kind of film

it's going to be.

Or what the story is going to be,

or who am I going to be working with.

And therefore,

just the fact that Salim saab

and Javed saab

wished to come

and see me for a narration

was in itself a huge moment.

I didn't want to do Zanjeer.

I basically never wanted to be a part

of a male-centric cinema.

It was a male-centric film.

Salim saab and Javed saab -

they were very straight-forward.

They had tried a lot of

other women actors.

Of course they all had refused.

And they said: "You can't say no,

we need you."

Of course another temptation

was my co-star.

So I thought at least we'd get

to spend time together.

We had written the complete script

of Zanjeer.

But when the posters were put up,

our names were nowhere

to be seen.

A script is the most important

thing in filmmaking.

Yet writers were not valued,

and sometimes not even credited.

There were many other good writers,

but I hadn't seen their names

on any banner.

They would receive their money,

but due respect or credit

wasn't even given to senior

writers, except for one or two.

This was another common practice

that we wanted to break.

So we caught hold of a painter,

gave him paint, a brush

and a stencil with our names.

Now this painter went

on the job a bit tipsy!

So he painted our names on the

heroine's nose, the hero's forehead,

even across Pran's mouth!

He painted in large letters:

"Written by Salim-Javed"

The next morning people saw

our names on posters all over Bombay.

How did you get the idea of

adding your own names?

You should ask

Salim saab about that.

All these acts of bravery were his!

He used to instigate me,

and I'd ask: "Are you sure?"

"Sure, I'm sure! We wrote it.

Why fear anyone?

"We'll see later."

Everyone saw those posters.

What could be greater

publicity than that?

Has anyone ever managed that?

Until the film was released,

people said:

"These are foolish fellows!

"Stamping on the posters:

'Written by Salim-Javed.'

"Who has heard of them?"

We worked so hard

and you won't give us credit?

A songwriter who writes a single page

has his name on the poster.

While the writer of the entire script

isn't mentioned.

A lot of people didn't take it well.

"You're just a writer

and you want everyone to know you?"

We said: "That's just how it is".

What's the name of

a strange man like you?

Vijay.

"I don't pick up money

thrown at me,"

is something they would've said

to a producer.

That kind of Vijay, I think,

embodied both of them together.

Be it Vijay of Zanjeer,

Vijay of Deewaar,

Vijay of Trishul,

or Vijay of Shakti -

These characters were called

"Angry Young Men".

Where was this anger from?

Maybe we had anger

and hurt within us.

Anger is a very strong emotion,

if used in the proper way.

It can be a very potent emotion.

"Next week another coolie

will refuse to pay protection money."

Will you sign or not?

My name is Vijay, sir.

What has not happened in

25 years will happen now.