Hum to Doobenge sanam tum ko bhii le Doobenge

Film : Aawaara

Year of release : 1951

Spoken by : Raj (Raj Kapoor)

Spoken to : Rita (Nargis)

This is a line which instantly reminds me of my 9th grade English textbook. There was a story written by a Bhabhani thingummajig which was entitled Mere Monkeys. If that short story was to be made into a Hindi film, I would have given it the same title as the title of this post.

One of the lasting impressions that I have in this film is a 11-12 year old Shashi Kapoor going and asking his mother 'Maa yeh aawaaraa kyaa hotaa hai'. It is probably the most contrived line I have heard in the history of Hindi cinema. Shashi Kapoor even at that tender age had the grace to look very very embarrassed. You must watch the film for just this one line. But otherwise this film - written by Khwaaja Ahmad Abbas - whose great grandson Shahid Kapoor is setting the screen on fire these days - was a paean to the socialist version of the nature vs nurture debate. Ever since Hitler did what he did, most scientists are loathe to propound any theory which links behaviour or traits to genetics. Khwaaja Ahmad Abbas tries to settle it in favour of 'nurture' with this film. Hence KN Singh goes to great lengths to disprove the judge's theory that a thief's son will turn out to be a thief. He picks up the judge's son and turns him into an 'aawaara' - a vagabond.

Anyways this line has nothing to do with all the pseudo serious drivel that I have written above. Raj and his girl friend Rita are frolicking on the beach. The famous Raj-Nargis chemistry is evident. They both have jumped into a small 'bay'. While Rita has managed to come out, Raj hasn't. He extends his hand out asking for help and utters this classic line.

"Hum to Doobenge sanam tum ko bhii le Doobenge"

"हम तो डूबेंगे सनम तुम को भी ले डूबेंगे"

Maine abhii tak decide nahee.n kiyaa hai

Film : Road

Year of release : 2002

Spoken by : Babu (Manoj Bajpai)

Spoken to : Lakshmi (Antara Mali)

Babu convinces the young couple Lakshmi and Arvind to give him a lift. He then manages to shake off Arvind and makes off with Lakshmi. A scared Lakshmi is trying to figure out what he wants from her. At one point - exasperated - she asks

"lekin tum mujhse chaahte kyaa ho?"

Babu comes up with another classic line (like so many others that you can read by clicking on the Label at the bottom of this post)

"मैंने अभी तक decide नहीं किया है"
"maine abhii tak decide nahee.n kiyaa hai"

The line is part funny and part chilling - given the context of the film. This is a very common scenario in corporates. A tyrant of a boss and a traumatised employee. Finally the employee breaks down and asks - what is it that you really want? A great line if you are such a boss!

Agar mujhe sharm aane lagegii, to tere aur mere me.n farq kyaa reh jaayegaa

Film : Ghulami

Year of release : 1985

Spoken by : Jaabar (Mithun Chakraborty)

Spoken to : Tulsi (Anita Raj)

One of JP Dutta's earliest films. Extremely unwatchable. The kind of film that makes you demand the inclusion of films within the ambit of Consumer Protection Act. And this is inspite of having Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Dharmendra, Naseeruddin Shah, Mithun and Smita Patil in this film. Enough of my ranting. There are some interesting lines, however, which Jaabar i.e. Mithun has in this film. Click on the label 'Ghulami' or search using the search box for other lines from this film.

Jaabar's (Mithun) animals have strayed from their normal grazing route, and he now has to round them up. Obviously this is hard work and an angry Jaabar curses his animals while rounding them up. His girl friend Tulsi (Anita Raj) is slightly embarrassed and chides him for swearing in her presence. She says that he should be ashamed of his action.

Jabar says

"Sharm to ladkiyon kaa gehnaa hai agar mujhe sharm aane lagegee to tere aur mere me.n farq kyaa reh jaayegaa"

"शर्म तो लड़कियों का गहना है, अगर मुझे शर्म आने लगेगी तो तेरे और मेरे में फर्क़ क्या जायेगा"

These are lines which are unapologetically macho. A far cry from today's androgenous generation where the gender lines seem to have blurred. You might agree with them or disagree with them, but you cannot ignore them.

Aisaa kuchh laa jo ang pe lage

Film : Rangeela

Year of release : 1995

Spoken by : Munna (Aamir Khan)

Spoken to : Waiter at 5 star (Rajeev Mehta)

One of Ramgopal Varma's non RGV-esque films. This was a romantic musical on the lines of Singing in the Rain (another film I love). Although there is a 'Taporii' character in the film (also referred to as 'bhai'), but he is as lovable as they come. In one of the most shocking statements, RGV (post release) said that Govinda would have done a better job. I felt Aamir lent a certain dignity to the role.

Coming back to the line, Munna has invited Mili to a 'date' to a five star restaurant. He is obviously out of place in a five star. This makes his exchange with the snobbish waiter a treat. The waiter incidentally is played by Rajeev Mehta who is now a TV star (remember the Praful 'gadha' from KhichDii) of many serials. And he plays a fantastic foil to Munna's naivete.

Munna asks the waiter what are the items on offer - like you would in an Udupi 'hotel'. He would have expected - 'vada pav, misal pav, kanda bhajia...' kind of response. But what does he get! A list of items in English, that he has never heard of in his life. Instead of showing his ignorance by asking what they are, he comes up with this brilliant line:

"arre wo angreejii item nahee.n chaahiye apun ko, aisaa kuchh laa jo ang pe lage"

"अरे वो अंग्रेजी आइटम नहीं चाहिये अपुन को, ऐसा कुछ ला जो अंग पे लगे"

You should watch this movie just for Rajeev Mehta's reaction to Aamir's one liners.

The world is fast moving towards a multi-cuisine existence. Twenty years ago if someone said that his favourite dish is the Lebanese Shavarma, he would be someone who would be trying to impress. Today it is actually possible. So if you end up in a foreign cuisine restaurant and the waiter throws some foreign names at you, use this line. If he is an Indian waiter, he will understand and get you something that is deep fried. And as my mother says, anything that is deep fried or put in sugar syrup is good on the palate.

Saliim tujhe marne nahee.n dega aur hum tujhe jeene nahee.n denge

Film : Mughal-e-Azam

Year of release: 1960

Spoken by: Akbar (Prithviraj Kapoor)

Spoken to: Anarkali (Madhubala)

The lid had been blown off the Salim-Anarkali love story and it has now reached a situation where Akbar has decided to execute Anarkali. However Salim has promised Anarkali that he will consummate their love, and Anarkali begs Akbar to let Salim fulfil his promise, or else, the future emperor of India will be proved a liar. Akbar grants her the wish, saying that at the end of the day she has to make Salim unconscious, so that his soldiers can carry Anarkali away for execution. In his words -

"taaki voh teri maut se naa aashnaa ho jaaye, tujhe bhool jaaye, aur hamaare pehredaar tujhe behosh aashiq ke pehloo se uThaa kar, maut kee aaGosh me.n gum kar de.n"

Anarkali agrees to this plan. She says

"maut muhabbat se qareeb ho gayee. aisaa hee hogaa."

Akbar however delivers his immortal ultimatum thus -

'agar aisa naa huaa, to saliim tujhe marne nahee.n dega.. aur hum, anarkali, tujhe jeene nahee.n denge'

"अगर ऐसा ना हुआ, तो सलीम तुझे मरने नहीं देगा और हम अनारकली, तुझे जीने नहीं देंगे'