With multiple blockbusters to their name — many of which are considered some of the most significant movies in Bollywood — screenwriter duo Salim–Javed (Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar) has often been credited by industry heavyweights for providing writers with the recognition they deserve. While many regard them as the industry’s most influential figures, having created some of its most iconic films, writer Amit Aryan, known for shows and movies like FIR, Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai, Lapataganj, ABCD, and Do Knot Disturb, recently argued that Salim and Javed are more like “copy-writers” than writers, as he claims they never produced truly original work. He further suggested that their most iconic film, Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay (1975), was actually “copied” from a Raj Khosla movie.
“I do not consider Salim and Javed writers,” he said during a chat with Digital Commentary, adding, “They are two people whom the whole world salutes, but they have only, in their entire lives, plagiarised. Salim and Javed are copy-writers, not writers.” He further claimed that Sholay was a copy of Khosla’s action drama Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971), starring Dharmendra, Asha Parekh, and Vinod Khanna in key roles.
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“Sholay features one man, whose hands were cut off and his family eliminated by a dacoit, trying to take revenge against his rival through other persons. In Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Vinod Khanna played a dacoit named Jabbar Singh, which became Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan) in Sholay. Actor Jayant played a retired soldier in the Khosla movie whose one hand was cut off. In Sholay, there is a retired police officer (Sanjeev Kumar) instead with his both hands cut off. In Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Jayant’s character asks Dharmendra’s to take revenge on his behalf, which the latter initially declines but does in the end. In Sholay, one more character was added and with Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan also appeared,” he explained.
Aryan also highlighted similarities between Sholay and V Shantaram’s Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957) and claimed that every scene in Sholay was lifted from other films, referencing Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (1954). He further asserted that Salim–Javed’s Deewaar (1975), directed by Yash Chopra and starring Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor and Nirupa Roy, was copied from Nitin Bose’s Gunga Jumna (1961), featuring Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala. Aryan noted that both movies depict two brothers on opposite sides of the law, with the criminal ultimately being shot by his policeman brother.
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“They even copied from their own work. In Shakti (1982), directed by Ramesh Sippy and starring Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan, there’s a police officer whose son becomes a criminal. In the climax, the father says, ‘Vijay, stop, or I’ll shoot.’ When Vijay doesn’t stop, the father shoots his son,” he said, drawing parallels between the plots of Gunga Jumna, Deewaar, and Shakti.
“Every Salim–Javed film is a copy of some other work. Every frame in their movies is plagiarised. Every action sequence in Sholay is copied,” he continued, emphasising that his main issue with them is that both they and the world regard them as great writers, while others, who did plagiarise, admit that they copied from other works without hesitation. “Salim and Javed are better businessmen and salesmen. They knew how to sell something and narrate it well,” he added, acknowledging that, nonetheless, he listens to them speak, especially Javed, as they are good orators. He also argued that there’s a difference between inspiration and copying.
Amit also mentioned that Salim Khan is a big fan of his show FIR, recalling, “He even invited the entire team for lunch a couple of times. Salman Khan and the whole family, including Salman Khan, liked FIR. He has praised me openly and I am openly saying they are salesmen. They have never created anything original. Even I can make copies,” he remarked, adding that even the documentary series Angry Young Men was hogwash, with a group of “liars” coming together to praise them in a show made by their children.
In the documentary series Angry Young Man, Salim-Javed had both discussed the fact that their films were indeed inspired by many international and Hindi films.
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