Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar's screenwriting prowess took the Hindi film industry to new heights in the 1970s. In recent times, Bollywood has faced tough competition from films in the South. In an interaction with NDTV, Salim Khan shared his opinion on why the audience is moving towards the entertainers made in the southern part of the country. He explained, “Uski wajah yeh hai ki humare filmon ke andar unko (the audience) action bohot accha milta thha. Aur humare picture ke andar unko dance, gaane, heroine bohot khubsurat dikhne waali milti thhi — Sridevi and all. [The reason is that in our films they [the audience] received great action. They got good dance sequences and song numbers; the heroines were also very beautiful, like Sridevi].”
Salim Khan added, “Aj yeh ho gaya hai ki woh joh hum diya karte thhe, humare Hindi filmei jo diya karti thhi woh har picture aati hai South mei. Usmei bohot accha action hota hai, usme heroine nayi nayi aati hai, aur bohot accha performance hota hai. Toh woh joh hai ek substitue mil gaya hai unkon aur accha mil gaya hai. Unke gaane bhi acche hote hai. Saare cheeze humse better hai. Accha entertainment milega toh jayenge. [Today, the movies we used to serve the audience, the content our Hindi films used to provide, those same elements are being offered by the South films. They have very good action, there are newer actresses and the performances are also great. So the audience has got a substitute, and that too a better one. Their songs are good. All the things are better than us (Bollywood). If viewers are getting better entertainment they will of course get diverted.]”
Salim Khan then went on to heap praise on SS Rajamouli's 2022 magnum opus RRR, featuring Ram Charan and Jr NTR. “Bohot publicity se woh picture chaali hai, logon kaha bohot acchi hai. [The film has received a lot of publicity and people also loved it]” he said.
When the screenwriter was asked about why the stories of a "common man" are disappearing from Bollywood, Salim Khan replied, "Uski wajah bohut simple hain, reading jo hain bohut important hain. Jab yak padhoge nahin, likhoge kya. Uss zamane mein chahye woh Dileep Kumar ho ya Bharat Bhushan ho sabki ghar pe library hua karti thi, jab ke gaadi mein book hoti thi. [The reason is very simple: reading is very important. If you don't read, what will you write? In those days, whether it was Dilip Kumar or Bharat Bhushan, everyone had a library at home, and they used to carry a book in their car.] Everybody was interested in reading.” The veteran screenwriter added that nowadays nobody reads.
Angry Young Men, a docu-series on legendary screenwriters Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, was released last month. Directed by Namrata Rao, the Prime Video show explores their lives in detail.