Ye idli saambar khaate khaate to main mar jaauungaa

Film: Pyar ki Kahani

Year of release: 1971

Spoken by: Ramchand (Amitabh Bachchan)

Spoken to: Ravichand (Anil Dhawan)

Dialogue writer: Vishwamitter Adil

This is a very atypical Amitabh Bachchan dialogue.

This film was a flop based on the 1964 Tamil superhit Kai Kodutha Deivam.

In the original the protagonist (SS Rajendran) goes to Amritsar from Tamil Nadu. In this film Ravi Chand travels from Punjab to Bangalore. TS Raju wrote dialogues in the original movie. The differences between the two movies are a very interesting sidelight.

Ramchand uses the similarity of his name with Ravi chand to use an appointment letter in favour of an 'R.Chand', to benefit a rank stranger whom he wants to help i.e. Ravi Chand (Anil Dhawan).

Once Ravichand gets the job they both sit down to draft a new budget for their house. Ramchand lists a new house, new clothes and other expenses:

"raashan ka Kharcha aur baawarchii ki tanKhwaah DeDh sau rupaye..."

Ravi asks - "ye kyon "

"dekh...khaane peene ke maamle mein tu Taang mat aDaayaa kar

ye idli saambar khaate khaate to main mar jaauungaa...

ek aadh baar chapati to khaa len de naa!"

"ये इडली साम्बर खाते खाते तो मैं मर जाऊंगा, एक आध बार चपाती तो खा लेन दे ना !"

And he pronounces the word saambar as all Non-south Indians do. Like psalm-burr! The correct pronunciation of course is psalm-bar.

साम्बार. 

And no, there is no भ in this word! Ended up losing quite a bit of respect for Amitabh Bachchan after this dialogue. 

Interesting sidelight, in the same scene in the original, Sivaji Ganeshan is cursing chapati. And wanting Tamil samaiyal. The exact dialogue is:

"tanjaavuur samayalkkaaran...nalla samayalkkaaran ..sappaattii muDiyalai ppaa. avanukku ambadu ruubaai daaraaLama kuDukkalaam"

In a funny twist, even after Ram gets Ravi married to a half Punjabi girl and expects to get Punjabi breakfast, he finds to his dismay that the new bride knows how to cook only idlis and saambaar!

I am sure he found solace in his father's advice 

मन का हो तो अच्छा, ना हो तो ज़्यादा अच्छा !