lekin kaam kuchh aisaa hai, ki mujhe aise hee aadmiyo.n kee zaroorat hai

Film : Sholay

Year of release : 1975

Spoken by : Thakur Baldev Singh (Sanjeev Kumar)

Spoken to : Jailor (Vikas Anand)

Dialogue writer : Salim Javed

I have always held that the entire screenplay of Sholay would walk into this blog. This is a classic line for an HR person writing a JD, or a line manager asking for a particular type of candidate. Because sometimes even in hardcore corporate jobs, unconventional people are required. 

This is the opening sequence of this great movie which will soon be released in 3D. I hope they do a good job technically. This is a film that deserves to be remade, recreated, digitally enhanced, etc etc etc. 

Thakur asks Ramlal to show a photo to the jailor and asks him if he recognises the men in the photo.

"inhe.n pehchaante hai.n aap?"

The Jailor responds with,

"Thakur sahab shayad hee koee aisaa jail ho, jisme.n ye dono.n naa gaye ho.n. ye veeru hai aur ye jaidev. dono.n ke dono.n pakke badmaash. ek nambar ke chor. chha.nTe hue GunDe hai.n"

Then with a sigh, Thakur comes up with this gem,

"jaantaa hoo.n lekin kaam kuchh aisaa hai, ki mujhe aise hee aadmiyo.n kee zaroorat hai"

"जानता हूं, लेकिन काम कुछ ऐसा है, कि मुझे ऐसे ही आदमियों की ज़रूरत है"

The discussion continues with the jailor saying that he does not know what kind of job he wants them for, but they are rotten to the core. Or as he puts it, 

"khoTaa sikkaa to dono.n hee taraF se khoTaa hotaa hai"

Thakur comes up with another gem,

"sikke aur insaan me.n shaayad yahee farq hai"

"सिक्के और इंसान में शायद यही फ़र्क़ है"

Jo pachchees baras me.n nahee.n huaa woh ab hogaa

Film : Deewar

Year of release : 1975

Spoken by : Vijay Verma (Amitabh Bachchan)

Spoken to : Rahim Chacha (Yunus Parvez)

Dialogue writer : Salim-Javed

The coolies of the dockyard are sitting and sipping tea in the canteen. Rahim is very concerned about Vijay's act of defiance in refusing to pay protection money (hafta). He says

yahaa.n Gareeb ko sau baate.n soch ke chalnaa paDtaa hai. aur phir ye log to mawaalii Thahare, inke munh kaun lage

यहाँ ग़रीब को सौ बातें सोच के चलना पडता है, और फिर ये लोग तो मवाली ठहरे, इनके मुंह कौन लगे. 

Another coolie eggs him on with this line,

Theek kehte ho raheem chacha bilkul Theek kehte ho

ठीक केहते हो रहीम चाचा बिलकुल ठीक कहते हो.

Suitably encouraged, Raheem continues his litany.

pachchees baras ho gaye hame.n yahaa.n kaam karte. hamane nahee.n dekhaa koee kulee unhe.n haftaa dene se inkaar kar de

पच्चीस बरस हो गये हमें यहाँ काम करते. हमने नहीं देखा कोई कुली उन्हें हफ़्ता देने से इनकार कर दे.

And the laconic Vijay pauses for a while and then says sententiously,

raheem chaacha jo pachchees baras me.n nahee.n huaa woh ab hogaa. agale hafte ek aur kuli in mawaaliyo.n ko paisaa dene se inkaar karne vaalaa hai. 

रहीम चाचा, जो पच्चीस बरस में नहीं हुआ वो अब होगा. अगले हफ़्ते एक और कुली इन मवालियों को पैसा देने से इनकार करने वाला है.

This is the line which later gives rise to  the "Peter ab ye taalaa mai.n terii jeb se chaabee nikaal ke..." line. But that line will come in some other post.

So when India wins the cricket World Cup after 28 years, the Left front loses Bengal after 34 years, and there is history being made all around. This is a great line to use. 

Remember the Emirates line - when was the last time you did something for the first time. So whenever you do that, use this line.

moorakh mukhiyaa bhool kare aur bhugte saaraa gaao.n

Film : Mausam

Year of release : 1975

Spoken by : Harihar Thapa (Om Shivpuri)

Spoken to : Dr Amarnath Gill (Sanjeev Kumar)

Dialogue writer : Gulzar

Well I thought I must get this one in before Shahid Kapoor's Mausam releases :)

Though I am not partial to the 70s, I do feel that the quality of writers in that phase, will never be replicated. Rajinder Singh Bedi, Rahi Masoom Raza, Sachin Bhowmick, Salim Javed, Gulzar - all contemporaries! That is why neither the 50s nor the 60s nor the 80s and later appear as much as the 70s do on this blog. But on second thoughts probably I am biased :)

Mausam was a film based on AJ Cronin's 1961 story The Judas Tree. Kamleshwar is credited with the story, but then he did make substantial changes. Indian audiences would not have accepted Kajri getting married to Dr Gill. 

Amarnath is a medical student, who has come to Darjeeling to study. During one of his excursions, he slips over some stairs and falls. He manages to drag himselves to the nearest 'vaid' - Harihar Thapa. When Harihar hears how he slipped over the stairs, he comes up with this quip. The line is a reference to Amarnath's eyes (the mukhiya) whose fault leads to the entire body (saaraa gaao.n) suffering. 

"moorakh mukhiyaa bhool kare aur bhugte saaraa gaao.n"

"मूरख मुखिया भूल करे और भुगते सारा गांव" 

kabhii kabhii ye kaam bhee karnaa chaahiye

Film : Sholay

Year of release : 1975

Spoken by : Jay (Amitabh Bachchan)

Spoken to : Veeru (Dharmendra)

Veeru and Basanti (Hema Malini) are now a proper romantic couple. Veeru wants Jay to go to Basanti's mausee (aunt) and ask for Basanti's hand. Jay is very skeptical of Veeru's 'love' and his desire to 'marry'. See how the scene opens.

Veeru : Jay...

Jay : hmmm...

Veeru : aaj maine kuchh sochaa hai...

Jay : hmm...kabhii kabhii ye kaam bhee karnaa chaahiye

The sardonic Jay is heaping scorn on Veeru and his ability to think. I do loads of this 'kaam' and wish more people in this world would do so too. :)

As Jay says,

हम्म... कभी कभी ये काम भी करना चाहिये

Bhagwaan kare golee chalaate waqt tere haath naa kaaNpe

Film : Deewar
Year of release : 1975
Spoken by : Sumitra Verma (Nirupa Roy)
Spoken to : Ravi Verma (Shashi Kapoor)

Making it a double bill for Deewar.

Indian films do have a fetish for the idealistic, fastidious mother character. The mother sticks to her ideals come what may. In this scene, Ravi is going after his brother Vijay. The mother realises that there might be a scenario where only one of them might come out alive. She does not do what Kunti did in Mahabharat. She does not go and beg the 'bad' son to spare the life of her 'good' son. Instead, she takes an unequivocal stand. She tells the 'good' son - go, go and do your duty. And I wish and hope that at the crunch moment your hand should not shake.

This is the pocket edition Nirupama Roy version of the Bhagavad Geeta.

Great line to use when someone in your team is going out for a sales call. Sales guys generally succeed by 'killing' the customer. And you would want to ensure

"भगवान करे गोली चलाते वक़्त तेरे हाथ ना कांपे"

Aaj Khush to bahut hoge tum

Film : Deewar

Year of release : 1975

Spoken by : Vijay Verma (Amitabh Bachchan)

Spoken to : God Shankar :)

आज ख़ुश तो बहुत होगे तुम. देखो जो आज तक तुम्हारे मन्दिर की सीढियां नहीं चढा, जिसने आज तक तुम्हारे सामने सर नहीं झुकाया...जिसने आज तक कभी तुम्हारे सामने हाथ नहीं जोड़े ...वो आज तुम्हारे सामने हाथ फैलाये खडा है

aaj ...khush to bahut hoge tum। Dekho... jo aaj tak tumhaare mandir kee seedhiyaaN naheeN chaDha ..jisne aaj tak tumhaare saamne sar naheeN jhukaayaa...jisne aaj tak kabhi tumhaare saamne haath nahee joDe ... woh... aaj tumhaare saamne haath phailaaye khaDaa hai।

bahut khush hoge tum...bahut khush hoge ki aaj maiN...yahaaN aayaa...lekin tum jaante ho ki jis waqt main yahaaN khaDaa hoon...woh aurat, jiske maathe se tumhaaree chaukhaT ka patthar ghis gayaa, wo aurat, jispar zulm baDhe, to uskee poojaa baDhee, wo aurat jo zindagi bhar jaltii rahee magar tumhaare mandir meN deep jalaatee rahee ...WOH AURAT...woh aurat aaj zindagi aur maut ki sarhad par khaDee hai.

बहुत ख़ुश होगे तुम...बहुत ख़ुश होगे कि आज मैं...यहां आया...लेकिन तुम जानते हो कि जिस वक़्त मैं यहां खड़ा हूं...वो औरत, जिसके माथे से तुम्हारी चौखट का पत्थर घिस गया, वो औरत, जिस पर ज़ुल्म बढ़े, तो उसकी पूजा बढ़ी, वो औरत जो ज़िन्दगी भर जलती रही मगर तुम्हारे मन्दिर में दीप जलाती रही...वो औरत...वो औरत आज ज़िन्दगी और मौत की सरहद पर खड़ी है.

kyaa qasoor hai uskaa, kaunsaa paap, kaunsa jurm kiyaa hai usne. kyaa uskaa jurm ye hai ki wo merii maa hai, kya uskaa jurm ye hai ki usne mujhe janam diyaa hai, kyaa uskaa jurm ye hai ki main usse pyaar kartaa hooN. ye...ye kis jurm kee sazaa dee jaa rahee hai use? merii maa, suhaagin hote huye vidhwaa banee rahee ...maine tumse kabhee kuchh naheeN maangaa

क्या क़सूर है उसका, कौनसा पाप, कौनसा जुर्म किया है उसने. क्या उसका जुर्म ये है कि वो मेरी मां है, क्या उसका जुर्म ये है कि उसने मुझे जनम दिया है, क्या उसका जुर्म ये है कि मैं उससे प्यार करता हूं. ये ...ये किस जुर्म की सज़ा दी जा रही है उसे? मेरी मां सुहागन होते हुये विधवा बनी रही...मैने तुमसे कभी कुछ नहीं मांगा.

This is a classic dialogue from the all time classic called Deewar. Vijay is an atheist in the film and even as a kid when his mother and brother Ravi go to the temple, he is shown sitting and waiting at the entrance. In one of the powerful cinematic moments of the film, when he realises his mother is not well, he swallows his pride and keeps his principles aside and steps inside the sanctum sanctorum. He pleads with God to cure his mother. He argues that even though he might have committed illegal acts, his mother should not be punished for it. But the piece de resistance is the opening line he uses with God, almost equating him to a potent adversary. He says

aaj khush to bahut hoge tum

Implying that God had created circumstances which have weakened him so much, that he has decided to genuflect before his old adversary. So whenever you face a situation where you are forced to do something by someone you dont like, use this line. Instantly hits home.

Saare anDe abhee lenge yaa...

इसे हिन्दी में पढ़ने के लिए यहाँ क्लिक करें

Film: Deewar
Year of release: 1975
Spoken by : Vijay Verma (Amitabh Bachchan)
Spoken to: Samant (Madan Puri)

Vijay joins Dawar (Iftikhar) who is a smuggler plagued by a rival smuggler called Samant. Samant is a cunning operator who hijacks Dawar's contraband once it has safely reached the shores of Mumbai.

Vijay decides to play on Samant's strength - ability to get timely competitor information. He goes to Samant and presents himself as an informer. He gives him information about a big consignment of smuggled gold which is about to land in Mumbai. Samant falls for the bait - though he retains a healthy suspicion about Vijay's motives. Ostensibly, Vijay's motive is Rs 5 lacs - the amount agreed to be given as the price for his information. Samant keeps Vijay hostage in his lair, till his men are able to hijack Dawar's consignment and bring it to his godown. When he gets confirmation of the safe arrival of the goods, Vijay asks for his money. Samant takes out a revolver and asks Vijay - what if he shot him instead of paying him.

Vijay, with characteristic sang-froid, turns around and relates the tale of the greedy man who had a hen that laid a golden egg everyday. One day the man gets too greedy and decides to rip the hen open, hoping to get all the golden eggs together. Vijay summarises the story very well and very persuasively with this one line

Saare anDe abhee lenge yaa?

सारे अंडे अभी लेंगे या?

kahaaN aa paaoongee maiN din meN

Film : Aandhi
Year of release : 1975
Spoken by : Aarti Devi (Suchitra Sen)
Spoken to : JK (Sanjeev Kumar)

This is an all time classic. Aarti and JK are a separated couple, who meet 9 years later. Aarti is in town for a political rally and the hotel she is staying in belongs to JK. As they get over the initial hesitation due to the hiatus, they go for long after dinner walks. In one such situation, while the song "Tere binaa zindagii se koii" is being played in the background, JK explains to Aarti

Suno aarti, yeh jo phoolon kee belen nazar aatee hain naa, darasal yeh belen naheen hain, arabee mein aayaten likhee hain. Ise din ke waqt dekhnaa chaahiye, bilkul saaf nazar aatee hain,
din ke waqt yeh saaraa paanee se bharaa rehtaa hai. Din ke waqt jab ye…

सुनो आरती, ये जो फूलों की बेलें नज़र आती है ना, दरस्ल ये बेलें नहीं हैं, अरबी में आयतें लिखीं हैं. इसे दिन के वक़्त देखना चाहिये, बिल्कुल साफ़ नज़र आती हैं.
दिन के वक़्त ये सारा पानी से भरा रहता है. दिन के वक़्त जब ये...
Aarti interjects
Din kee baat kyon kar rahe ho, kahaan aa paaoongee main din mein.
दिन की बात क्यों कर रहे हो, कहां आ पाऊंगी मैं दिन में

A wistful JK responds

Yeh jo chaand hai naa, ise raat mein dekhnaa. Yeh din me nahee nikaltaa .
ये जो चांद है ना, इसे रात में देखना. ये दिन में नहीं निकलता
Aarti

Yeh to roz nikaltaa hogaa
ये तो रोज़ निकलता होगा

JK
Haan lekin beech mein amaavas aajaatee hai Vaise to amaavas pandrah din kee hotee hai, lekin is baar bahut lambee thee.
हां लेकिन बीच में अमावस आ जाती है. वैसे तो अमावस पन्द्रह दिन की होती है, लेकिन इस बार बहुत लम्बी थी

Aarti
Nau baras lambee thee naa?
नौ बरस लम्बी थी ना?

Then the song continues into the stanza "jee me aataa hai tere..."

This is one of my favourite lines (even though Suchitra Sen says it). All of us do find it hard to do a lot of things during the day. The holidays are spent sleeping indoors. So the daytime is so hard to get for leisure activities. So if anyone calls you anywhere during the day and you can't make it. Use this line

कहां आ पाऊंगी मैं दिन में

Vo mere khilaaf haiN. Isliye opposition me haiN

Suchitra Sen strikes. Once again. The 1975 classic Aandhi. Aarti Devi (Suchitra Sen) plays a politician in the film. At a press conference, a reporter asks her a seemingly silly question

“Opposition aapke khilaaf kyoN hai?”
ऑपोसिशन आपके ख़िलाफ़ क्यों है?
Aarti answers with a witticism

Vo mere khilaaf haiN. Isliye opposition me haiN
वो मेरे ख़िलाफ़ हैं. इसलिये ऑपोसिशन मे हैं.
Seems like what we would call a circular reference in Excel. It is something that Shahrukh Khan says in Don

Don ke dushmanoN kee sabse baDee Galatee ye hai ki vo Don ke dushman haiN

Or as George Bush said on September 20th 2001 – “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists”.

A style statement to make to reinforce your command over a particular organization/nation.

AnTaa Gafeel ho gayee

This is Gulzar again. From the movie Aandhi. Aarti Devi (Suchitra Sen) is the daughter of Mr K Bose (Rehman) who is a prominent personality. Bose has great political ambitions for his daughter Aarti. The allusion is very clearly to Nehru and Indira. Though the censor board of that time, insisted on a scene where the two of them i.e. Bose and Aarti, look at a photo of Indira and Aarti says

woh to merii ideal hai

वो तो मेरी ideal है

Aandhi is the story of how a woman's ambition comes in the way of her happy married life. As a man, I found it hard to digest some of the chauvinistic statements made. I think women would squirm. The story is of a woman Aarti (who has political ambitions) and a hotelier JK (who wants a wife who can take care of the home and hearth). The woman choses career over husband and daughter, later repents, and finally comes back. Hell, the writer/director even make Aarti touch the feet of JK in the end.

In a party, Aarti’s drink is laced with alcohol, by a trouble monger. She is in a drunken stupor and decides that it would be better if she spent the night in a hotel. She lands up in JK (Sanjeev Kumar)’s hotel and JK helps her to her room. In the morning, when JK recounts her nocturnal escapade. He uses this phrase to tell Aarti that she had just collapsed in drunken stupor. I just love the phrase

‘अंटा गफील हो गयी...’

Saeed Jaffrey uses this phrase in Chashme Baddoor when he tell Ravi Baswani that he has devoured his money

पैसे अंडा गफ़ील कर लिये है ...
Whereas JK says ‘अंटा गफ़ील’. Aandhi is written by Kamleshwar and Gulzar, whereas Chashme Baddoor is written by Sai Paranjpe. I think I will go with the former. Though I would use the option to the readers to use either of the two.

Car se aane waale aksar der se aate hain.

Salim-Javed again. I must curb this instinct, else people are going to think I am their PR agent. Not that they need any PR. This is from Deewar again. Ravi Vs Vijay. The famous “mere paas maa hai” scene. Vijay (Amitabh Bachchan) reaches a bit late and the moment he reaches, asks Ravi (Shashi Kapoor)

मुझे आने मे देर तो नही हुयी
Mujhe aane me der to nahee huyee

It was meant to be a rhetorical question, and any other brother posing as a police inspector would have let it pass. But not Ravi. Armed with the amazing missile called Salim-Javed he is highly unlikely to let it pass. So what does he do? He turns around and tells Vijay

कोई बात नही – कार से आने वाले अक्सर देर से आते हैं
Koee baat nahee – car se aane vaale aksar der se aate hain

I have often seen that the people who are the closest to a meeting venue, often reach last. The people who travel 45 km to reach the venue, often reach well in time. Similarly, the people who travel by public transport reach on time and those who travel in a chauffeur driven car reach late. So whenever you are in a situation where you find a better equipped (in terms of transport, distance etc) person reaching late, you could use this line.

Alternatively, if you have a car of your own, and reach late, use this line if someone points out that you are late

कार से आने वाले अक्सर देर से आते हैं

Tab tak laRkaa taiyyaar chaahiye

This is another beautiful line from the 1975 movie Aandhi. Although I think Suchitra Sen was an example of extremely bad casting. All the dialogues were mauled, molested and trampled twice over by her. But probably that was an effect Gulzar desired. There must be some creative satisfaction in writing great lines and seeing them trampled to death. Anyways, this is a beautiful scene where Aarti (Suchitra Sen) sends a telegram to her husband JK (Sanjeev Kumar) to tell him that she is pregnant. JK works as an Assistant Manager in a hotel and both of them stay together in the same house. Yet she sends him a telegram. JK receives the telegram when he reaches the reception of the hotel and is about to relieve his colleague. When he reads it, he breaks into a broad smile. He tells his colleague the news. After the customary congratulations, the colleague asks JK if he wants to respond. JK asks his colleague to reply with a telegram congratulating her and adding that he would reach by nine thirty that evening and then he delivers this classic line
“मैं शाम को साढे नौ बजे तक पहुंच जाऊंगा. तब तक लड़का तैयार चाहिये”
When his colleague ribs him that this wasn’t possible, JK retorts with
“You don’t know my wife यार. वो महीनों का काम दिनों मे करती है. She will do it just like that!”

So whenever you want a complex and long gestation project to be done quickly, you could use this line. ‘तब तक लड़का तैयार चाहिये’
A person I used to work with – while working on a project with a stiff deadline – sent me an sms which said – “A boss is a person who thinks that nine women working together can deliver a child in one month”. This line reminded me of that statement.

Bhaiyye geetaa haath me leke jang nahee laRee jaa saktee

Gulzar's 1975 opus Aandhi. Of course the movie was controversial at that time due to the backdrop of emergency. And hence it is a seminal work for movies on politics and politicians. Very well written characters of Aarti Devi (Suchitra Sen) and JK (Sanjeev Kumar). This particular line is mouthed by Lalloo Laal (Om Prakash). The local newspaper of the town publishes the headline "Aarti's nights for hotel manager". I do wonder why did Gulzar have a newspaper titled "Zamaanaa" publish itself in English in a small town and worse - why did it have English in such atrocious language. But then I have a lot of grouse with Gulzar for this movie, which I shall refrain from getting into. Aarti is separated from her husband JK and they accidentally meet at the hotel after 9 years. Aarti has gone there for campaigning. The opposition sees it as an opportunity for mudraking and hence get this published along with photos. When Lalloo Laal (who is Aarti's chief campaign organiser) reads this, he goes berserk. He says the campaign is over for Aarti. The public will no longer vote for her. When another associate points out that it is Aarti's personal life and why should people agonise over it, Lalloo comes up with this masterpiece

भैय्ये गीता हाथ मे लेके जंग नहीं लड़ी जा सकती. भगवान किशन नहीं लड़ सके तो ये क्या लड़ेंगी.

Life is a continuous battle. Too much accent on morals is often misplaced. And whenever you find someone placing too much accent on morals and ethics, you could use this line

भैय्ये गीता हाथ मे लेके जंग नहीं लड़ी जा सकती.

Bhaiyye geetaa haath me leke jang nahee laRee jaa saktee

Pehla order cancel

Sholay is a true classic. There is a scene where Dharmendra is threatening to commit suicide. A character standing below asks another person standing nearby

"Yeh su-side kyaa hotaa hai" (As an aside, I wonder why the entire Hindi news channel industry insists on pronouncing this word as 'su-side'. Probably it is the effect of Sholay :))

Back at the ranch,

The person standing nearby responds

"Jab angrez marte hain to use su-side kehte hain"

And this character responds with a classic line

"Yeh angrez log marte kyoN hain"

I often see how Indians still suffer from an inferiority complex vis-a-vis the White Man. This line is symptomatic of that attitude. But I am digressing. The reason I wrote this was because when you watch this scene you want to know who those characters are - I mean their real names. Unfortunately I do not know and have been unable to find out hitherto. So if anyone reading this knows, please do write in. That is what a classic does. It makes you want to know such rare trivia too.

But the line featured here is not from that famous 'su-side' scene. That I will feature later. In fact the entire screenplay of Sholay will one day be found on this blog - drop by drop - bit by bit.

रेज़ा रेज़ा लख़्त लख़्त

This line is from the famous jail break scene, where Jai (Amitabh Bachchan) and Veeru (Dharmendra) take the jailor (Asrani) as hostage. Veeru sticks a wooden stick into the jailor's back and claims it to be a pistol. He tells the jailor that he should not move an inch. A terrified jailor stands rooted to the spot. Then Veeru says that he should escort both of them to the main gate of the jail. The fastidious and hairsplitting 'angrezoN ke zamaane kaa' jailor points out that he can't quite do that as they had ordered him to stay put. With extreme sang-froid (which is characteristic of him), Jaidev says

"Pehla order cancel...chalo"

"पहला ऑर्डर कॅंसल...चलो"

This is an excellent order to use whenever you do a flip flop. A volte face. So if you tell your wife or kids or colleagues or subordinates to do something and then later change it entirely...go ahead and say

"पहला ऑर्डर कॅंसल"

You could also use this at a restaurant though, but you are unlikely to be popular in that restaurant.

Jab tum achchhaa kehtii ho to bahut hee achchaa lagtaa hai

Time to go back to Gulzar. This is one of my favourite lines ever. Featured in one of Gulzar's seminal movies - Aandhi (1975). The film is based on a female politician - Aarti Devi (played by Suchitra Sen) and her relationship with a hotelier - JK (Sanjeev Kumar). In this particular scene, Aarti is listening to JK reciting poetry over the phone. When he has finished reciting it, he asks Aarti - achchee hai naa?

Aarti reaffirms - "Bahut achchee hai"

JK says "Pataa hai...jab tum achchaa kehtii ho ...bahut hee achchaa lagtaa hai"

"पता है ...जब तुम अच्छा कहती हो ...बहुत ही अच्छा लगता है"

The line is pretty straightforward if you look at it. The male protagonist recited a poem, the female protagonist confirms her approval. But then the male protagonist says, that the approval - the praise becomes ten times more powerful and relevant when it comes from the female protagonist. And that is where lies the proverbial usage of this line. We all have our soft spots or hot spots or whatever else it is that HR calls it these days. These are things that motivate us. You could call them our drivers. Sometimes these 'things' that motivate us - these 'drivers' are not abstract but personified as individuals. So we like it when 'so and so' praises us. Whereas the same praise when received from another individual does not have the same impact. We all have people whose approval we cherish. Whose praise is something we look forward to. Or as JK said

"जब तुम अच्छा कहती हो ...तो बहुत ही अच्छा लगता है"

The first post - Main aaj bhee phenke huye paise naheeN uThaataa

Well time to get cracking with the posts. Here goes the first installment

"Main aaj bhee phenke huye paise naheeN uThaataa"

"में आज भी फेंके हुए पैसे नहीं उठाता"

Film: Deewar

Year of release : 1975

Spoken by : Vijay Verma (Amitabh Bachchan)

Spoken to: Mulkraj Dawar (Iftekhar)

Dialogue writer : Salim Javed

What this line literally means is - I still do not pick up money that is thrown at me". The background is that the character Vijay worked as a shoeshine boy outside the race course as a kid. One of the patrons of the race course was a local smuggler - Mulk raj Dawar. He used to stop by to get his shoes shined. One such day when he tosses a fifty paisa coin at the shoeshine boy after getting his shoes shined; the boy refuses to pick up the coin and insists that the money be handed over to him in a more respectful manner. Years later, when Vijay has started working with Dawar, he rewards his first major success with a lot of money. He tosses the wad of notes onto a table. Vijay retorts with the line which is featured here.

The proverbial value of this is that it can be used in any situation - whether in corporate world or as a freelancer - when the payment is made in a manner not consonant with the dignity that ought to be accorded to the service rendered. Of course, it might have to be amended slightly as

"Main phenke huye paise naheeN uThaataa"

"में फेंके हुए पैसे नहीं उठाता"

The movie Deewaar contains many such lines and I will feature them in future editions of this blog. Watch this space for more.