Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan’s affinity for writing the ‘angry young man’ for the the silver screen, often essayed by Amitabh Bachchan, was recently explored in Angry Young Men. While promoting the Prime Video docu-series, Javed spoke about the contemporary man essayed on screen with the Indian Express and had this to say about Ranbir’s stardom after Animal.
( Javed Akhtar says society is not clear who is a contemporary woman: ‘Main chup rahungi is out’)
‘They forgot about the hurt; there’s only anger’
Javed explained how Amitabh’s ‘angry young man’ differs from the contemporary men essayed in films today.
He said, “Amitabh Bachchan’s anger was based on deep hurt. You could see the pain in him when he’s angry. Then, they forgot about the hurt; there was only anger, which was crude. That is how the angry young man went out of the scene. Now, who is the contemporary man? How much he owes to society, to peers, his family, or himself? Where do you draw the line to selfishness? It’s now clear. You don’t have great characters or great stars because of that.”
When the host immediately asked if Javed is implying that Ranbir will never be a star like Amitabh because of Animal, he jokingly replied, “No, no, I may write a film for him.” This is not the first time Javed has been openly critical of Animal.
Recent work
Javed’s Angry Young Men is directed by Namrata Rao and produced by Salman Khan Films, Excel Media and Entertainment, and Tiger Baby. The three-part series saw inputs not just from Javed and Salim, their children Salman Khan, Arbaaz Khan, Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar but also from celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Hema Malini and Yash.
Animal, directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, was released in theatres in 2023 and was a massive hit at the box office. The film also starred Rashmika Mandanna, Bobby Deol and Triptii Dimri. It was criticised for violence and misogyny, with Ranbir playing the titular animalistic man called Ranvijay Singh. After his distant father’s life is threatened, he goes on a murderous rampage.
