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THE BEST HINDI FILM LINES
Frankly dears, we do give a damn. The American Film Institute has announced its list of the top 100 Hollywood movie quotes (headed, unsurprisingly, by that immortal line mouthed by the ultra-smooth, roguish Rhett Butler ? “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn”). And we, notorious for our dialoguebaazi and whistle-worthy one-liners, haven’t compiled our own list yet! Bole to, it’s a challenge that simply cannot be refused. So here’s looking at you, Bollywood (don’t you remember ? that all-time classic Humphrey Bogart one-liner, “Here’s looking at you, kid” from Casablanca ? No. 5 on the AFI list?).
In Bollywood, the bad guys may finish last, but they certainly get all the best lines. So the unforgettable Gabbar tops the list with his menacing “Kitne aadmi they?” (Sholay, 1975, Amjad Khan). Followed closely by three other legendary Gabbar gems ? “Ab tera kya hoga, Kaaliya?”, “Jo dar gaya samjho mar gaya” and “Ab...goli kha” from the same film.
The outrageous Amrish Puri’s “Mogambo khush hua” from Mr India (1987) isn’t too far behind. And, of course, who can forget Ajit the Loin’s “Raaabert” and “Mona darling” mouthed glibly (by others) made it Ajit’s trademark even offscreen.
As far as the super-melodramatic ones go, the uncontested favourite is Dilip Kumar’s slurred “Kaun kambakht bardasht karne ko peeta hai” from Bimal Roy’s Devdas (1955). And from Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘drunk on grandeur’ Devdas (2002), it’s Madhuri ‘Chandramukhi’ Dixit’s cynical yet anguished,“Tawaifon ki to taqdeer hi nahin hoti, Thakurayin”. Another classic high-octane quote is Raaj Kumar’s gruff “Aap ke paaon dekhe. Bahut haseen hain. Inhe zameen par mat utaariyega ? maile ho jaayenge” from Kamal Amrohi’s Pakeezah (1972).
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Then there’s Rajesh Khanna’s much loved “Pushpa, I hate tears” from Shakti Samanta’s Amar Prem (1971), Sunny Deol’s high-decibel “Taareekh par taareekh, taareekh par taareekh, taareekh par taareekh deti hai yeh adaalat, par insaaf nahin deti” from Rajkumar Santoshi’s Damini (1993) and Shah Rukh Khan’s cocky “Aur haar kar jeetnewale ko baazigar kehte hain” from Abbas Mustan’s Baazigar (1993).
But the undisputed ‘mai-baap’ of heavy-duty dialoguebaazi comprises Shashi Kapoor’s pained, yet quietly self-assured killer line, “Mere paas Maa hai” from Yash Chopra’s Deewaar in 1975; and Amitabh Bachchan’s majestic “Rishte mein to hum tumhaare baap lagte hain, naam hai Shahenshah” from Tinnu Anand’s Shahenshah.
Then there are those saccharine-sweet, cutesy, lovey-dovey dialogues, which don’t really rank right up there in terms of quality, but are nevertheless, hugely popular. Such as Dimple Kapadia’s bold and trend-breaking “Mujhse dosti karoge?” (the first time that a girl had made the first move) in Raj Kapoor’s Bobby (1973), and Salman Khan’s oh-so cute “Dosti mein no sorry, no thank you” (inspired unabashedly from Erich Segal’s Love Story) in Sooraj R. Barjatya’s Maine Pyar Kiya (1988). But the one that really stands out is “Bade-bade deshon mein aisi chhoti-chhoti baatein hoti rehti hain” from Aditya Chopra’s Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995).
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And finally, there are those one-two worders, which have become memorable quotes by themselves. For instance, Rajesh Khanna’s highly stylised “Babumoshaaai” in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Anand (1970), which has become the standard term of endearment for a Bengali friend. And Shatrughan Sinha’s trademark (indeed, stereotyped) “Khamoshh!” uttered in countless movies. Or even, Kareena ‘Poo’ Kapoor’s supremely nonchalant “Whatever” in Karan Johar’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham?..( 2001), which has become an integral part of the kewl, college-going crowd lingo.
“Don’t mind” (as the irrepressible Sonali Bendre in Sarfarosh, 2001 said), if we’ve missed out some. Bole To... (Munnabhai MBBS, 2003, Sunjay Dutt), we did our best.
Sohini Chattopadhyay
Write in: This time mail your favourite filmy dialogues, which we may have missed here. With your full name and address. Mark it DIALOGUES and address it to The Telegraph, etc; 6 Prafulla Sarkar Street, Calcutta 700001, or mail us at ttetc@abpmail.com