Veteran screenwriter and lyricist Javed Akhtar got emotional in his docu-series, Angry Young Men, while sharing anecdotes from the time he moved to Mumbai and struggled to survive. He broke down remembering the point when he literally did not have clothes to wear as the last pair of trousers he had got torn.
Akhtar stated that after graduating from the Safia College in Bhopal, he moved to Mumbai to become an assistant director and work with legends like Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt.
However, the journey was not a cakewalk for Akhtar, who shared that he was on his own in Mumbai and even slept at railway stations, parks, benches and studio compounds. He then broke down recalling the time when he had nothing to wear.
"My last trouser and the only trouser was torn to the extent that it couldn’t be worn anymore. And I had no other trousers," he said through his tears.
"Sometimes I had to walk miles from Dadar to Bandra because I didn’t have money for the bus fare. Sometimes I realised I hadn’t eaten for two days," he shared.
Akhtar's wife, veteran actress Shabana Azmi, also shared that there was a time when he went without food for three days straight.
Wiping his tears, Akhtar said that being deprived of food and sleep leaves a deep and unforgettable impact on one's life. "Even today, when I stay at hotels, I look back at that time. Sometimes I am served breakfast on a trolley, with butter, jam, half-fried eggs, coffee, and I think to myself: ‘Teri aukaat thi? Do I deserve this?’. Even now, it feels like this breakfast isn’t meant for me," he stated.
Angry Young Men shows the maverick screenwriter duo Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, aka Salim-Javed, from up, close and personal. The docuseries also has testimonies from Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Salman Khan, Yash and others.
