jii mai.n maange ke kapDo.n me.n hameshaa achchhii lagtii hoo.n

Film : Seeta aur Geeta

Year of release : 1972

Spoken by : Geeta (Hema Malini)

Spoken to : Ravi's mother (Ratnamala) 

Dialogue writer : Salim-Javed

Another Salim-Javed gem. Makes it a Salim Javed double bill so to speak. This is the female version of Ram aur Shyam and the confident sister - Geeta is now with Ravi. Ravi had earlier gone to meet Seeta (literally the poor cousin) and her family in connection with a possible alliance and had come back disappointed. He now believes Geeta is the same girl. And takes her home. Geeta is wearing a gypsy dress and hence he asks her to wear something more appropriate -  from his sister's wardrobe. She emerges looking stunning. Ravi tells his parents that  what they saw the other day was a charade and Seeta's guardians actually mistreat her.  The parents are shocked and obviously approve of Seeta's (Geeta's) new look. Ravi's mother (Ratnamala) says

"main to kehtii hoo.n, mujhe to nafrat ho gayee hai un logo.n se. us din kis huliye me.n ise hamaare saamane laaye the.aur aaj dekho, kaisee achchhee lagtee hai. "

"मैं तो कहती हूं, मुझे तो नफ़रत हो गयी है उन लोगों से. उस दिन किस हुलिये में इसे हमारे सामने लाये थे. और आज देखो, कैसी अच्छी लगती है."

Different people respond in different ways to compliments. And Geeta responds with this good natured and rather naive remark,

"jii mai.n maange ke kapDo.n me.n hameshaa achchhii lagtii hoo.n"

"जी मैं मांगे के कपडों में हमेशा अच्छी लगती हूं"

So if you are used to borrowing clothes, you can use this line. I can't. Nobody in this world is my size!

Ek aur ghaRii bhii to hai jo peT me.n chaltii hai

Film: Kinara

Year of release : 1977

Spoken by : Aarti Sanyal (Hema Malini)

Spoken to : Inderjeet (Jeetender)

Actually the 'spoken to' column should say Prakash, because Aarti thinks she is speaking to Prakash, though it is actually Inderjeet. I was reminded of this film recently because the story of the recent Lafangey Parindey is loosely based on Kinara. Though I must add a caveat that I have not seen Lafangey Parindey and hence this need not be taken as authoritative. But I have seen Kinara. It is one of Gulzar's forgettable films with absolutely unforgettable music by RD Burman. Very slow and boring film. No performances worth speaking. Though Hema's dancing skills seem well exploited. But the music is worth its weight in gold.

Coming back to the line, Prakash/Inderjeet drops Aarti (who is blind) home after a visit to the church. As Inderjeet is about to take leave of her, she says, it is already 6 pm, so he might as well have tea before leaving. Inder wonders aloud as to how she knows the time.

I thought she would say 'braille watch' or something like that. But the answer surprised me. I liked it as well. So here it is - for your reading pleasure.

"एक और घड़ी भी तो है जो पेट में चलती है" 

"Ek aur ghaRii bhii to hai jo peT me.n chaltii hai"

I don't remember any other Hindi film dialogue that refers to the body clock!

My first century - and a dedication

Eight months ago, a chance comment from a colleague of mine prompted me to start this blog.

My first post

Little did I know that within such a short time, I would have such a regular readership. While looking at the list of posts, I realised that this would be the 100th post. Special circumstances deserve special solutions. So the 100th post has been written by a guest contributor. Who better than the man himself. Hitherto I had not named him, but now I shall name him and fame him (or shame him depending on whether you like the blog or not). Over to you Pramod

*************************************************************************************

I have been quite lucky when it comes to friends. They have always been kind and generous, both in terms of time and money. I have always been flooded with gifts and copious amounts of advice from my friends. The former I gladly accept, the latter I routinely reject politely.
A very dear friend of mine would take me to a shop and ask me to select dresses for him and on the way out would hand me a packet, saying he bought some for me too.
It was as if "My wish was their command". I happily accept goodies and gifts from my friends without reciprocating. My wife, who is also my well-wisher, absolutely abhors this habit of mine. She chides me no end when I come back and announce to her my latest possession.
I am reminded of the dialogue in Seeta Aur Geeta when Ravi (Sanjeev Kumar) introduces Geeta (Hema Malini) to his mother (Ratnamala) and she tells Ravi how beautiful Geeta is looking. Hema responds with this line

"MaiN maange huye kapdoN meiN hamesha achchhee lagtee hooN"

"मैं मांगे हुये कपड़ों में हमेशा अच्छी लगती हूं"

A slight distortion of what I tell my wife at such times. Whenever we get something free of cost, we seem to enjoy it more than if we had actually paid for it. Ghaalib also conveys this thought beautifully with his line

"muft haath aaye to maal achchhaa hai"

"मुफ़्त हाथ आये तो माल अच्छा है"

Not very true for some of my very conscientious friends though. But if you agree with me, and ever land in a similar situation, use this line.