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"

Isme aapkaa dosh naheeN...meree soorat hee aisee hai

Film : Awaara
Year of release : 1951
Spoken by : Raj (Raj Kapoor)
Spoken to : Rita (Nargis)

This is Raj's oft-repeated line in this movie. You can call it his 'takiaa qalaam'. Raj is a tramp - an aawaara - who steals for a living. One fine day, he snitches Rita's purse from a crowded market place. He bumps into her as he is doing this. Since he is dressed as a tramp, Rita heaps scorn on him. When she discovers that her purse is missing, she is distraught. She starts running in the direction where she thinks the thief might have gone. Raj pretends to chase the thief and while chasing this thief he jumps over a high wall and pretends to fight with the imaginary thief before bringing back the purse to Rita. He is almost exposed, as a curious Rita tries to climb the wall to see what's going on. But she is unable to scale the wall and hence Raj escapes detection. When he hands the purse back to Rita, she is contrite as she had treated him with contempt a while back. Raj says

"IsmeN aapkaa dosh naheeN memsaab; merii soorat hee aisee hai. Aur to aur kabhee kabhee police bhee dhokhaa khaa jaatee hai"
"इसमें आपका दोष नहीं मेमसाब; मेरी सूरत ही ऐसी है. और तो और कभी कभी पुलिस भी धोखा खा जाती है"

Years later I remember reading an interview (perhaps by the late Bunny Reuben) where Raj was asked what went wrong between him and Nargis. Raj is reported to have said

"Perhaps she did not find me handsome enough"

I guess Raj had this desire to get all audience sympathy directed towards him by hook or by crook. Probably the reason why after Andaaz, he was so desperate to do Sangam with Dilip. The final choice for that role in Sangam - Rajender Kumar - was quite miffed at the way Raj tried to corner all the sympathy in Sangam. I see no other reason why a very fair, slim, 26 year young man with blue eyes should mouth a line like this in India - and get away with it.

I remember, Cary Grant used to say that he would tell every woman that he was impotent and that made them all the more eager to prove him wrong. This seems to be a similar trick. So, if you are handsome and suffer from the same complex that Raj did, use this line. I can't use it. You see the line kind of loses its punch if mouthed by someone ugly. :)

इसमें आपका दोष नहीं मेमसाब; मेरी सूरत ही ऐसी है

Yeh vo log haiN jinheN saDkoN pe baTue mile aur unhone lauTaaye naheeN

Film : Anari
Year of release : 1959
Spoken by : Ramlal (Motilal)
Spoken to : Raj (Raj Kapoor)

The first time I 'heard' this film, this was the line that stayed with me. I finally managed to dig up the DVD to confirm the exact words. Yes you read right - I said 'heard' this movie. There used to be a program called Chitradhwani on Vividh Bharti. I think that was way back in 1989. I saw the movie for the first time in 2008. But for some strange reason this line stayed with me all this while.

Raj is searching for his 50 p which has fallen on the road, when he is almost knocked over by Ramlal’s car. Ramlal angrily gets down and accuses him of trying to extort money by purposely coming under his car. Later when he realizes Raj’s honesty, he offers him money. Raj refuses. Ramlal offers to take him to a hotel and feed him instead. Raj refuses that too. While leaving, Ramlal drops his wallet accidentally. Raj picks it up and has to fight off local loafers who accuse him of being a thief, before he can take the wallet back to Ramlal. Even Raj's landlady Mrs. L D'sa (Lalita Pawar) suspects him initially. Once she realises he is honest, she forces him to immediately go and return the wallet to Ramlal. Ramlal is having lunch in Hotel Shan Mahal (a none-too-veiled reference to the five star hotel Taj Mahal). Raj is unable to get in as the doorman thinks he is a low class person. Raj fishes out the wallet to try and explain to the doorman. The doorman is overly impressed by the wallet and immediately allows him in.

When he finally meets Ramlal, this is the exchange between the two of them. Truly a classic of Hindi cinema.

"Tum jaante ho is batue me kitne rupaye haiN?

"Bahut se rupaye haiN"

"Aur tum ye mujhe waapas karne aaye ho?"

"Jee haaN"

"Tab to tum bilkul anaaRi ho"

"dekhiye is batue ke liye aaj lord ke saamne merii beizzati ho gayee, aur ab aap mujhe anaRi kehte hain!"

"BaiTho. dekhte ho yeh rangeen zindagi. Heerey moti jawaaharaat se ladee ye auraten, bhaDkeele qahqahe lagaane vaale ye mard, ye log sab kaun haiN?"

"Mujhe nahee maaloom"

"Ye vo log haiN jinhe saDkoN pe batue mile, aur unhone lautaaye naheeN"

" ये वो लोग हैं जिन्हे सड़कों पे बटुए मिले और उन्होंने लौटाये नहीं"
"Jee ye sab mujhe jaanne kee zaroorat naheeN"

For a long time, the general populace in India thought that it was not possible to be rich and to be honest at the same time. I have mentioned this earlier in my blog too. Read this post.

I do think that times have changed. But every now and then when I am at a party, where the ostentation is atrocious, I am reminded of this line.

Is aundhee duniyaa ko seedhaa dekhanaa ho to sar ke bal khaDaa honaa paDtaa hai

Film : Shree 420

Year of release : 1955

Spoken by : Raj (Raj Kapoor)

Spoken to : Police constable

This is the famous sequence where Raj is fooling around on the Mumbai beach and the police constable has been observing his antics for a while. He is standing on his head. The police constable asks him what he is doing. Raj says

"sachchee baat to ye hai havaldaar sahib ki is aundhee duniyaa ko seedhaa dekhanaa ho to sar ke bal khaDaa honaa paDtaa hai"

khaa gayee naa aap bhee kapDoN se dhokhaa

इसे हिन्दी में पढने के लिए यहाँ क्लिक करें

Film: Shree 420
Year of release : 1955
Spoken by : Raj (Raj Kapoor)
Spoken to : Vidya (Nargis)

Immediately after the famous song 'eechak daanaa', Raj rings the bell and all kids run away. Vidya is very angry. Raj is dresssed as a tramp and Vidya is making no secret of her disdain for him. She calls him an illiterate bumpkin and wonders if Raj would want that the kids also end up like him. Raj protests.

This is the exchange between them

Raj : Main graduate hooN...BA pass मैं ग्रॅजुएट हूं ...बी ए पास

Vidya : BA pass ...huh. ek aur jhooTh. zaraa apanaa huliyaa to dekho. college ke paDhe likhe graduates kee yeh soorat hotee hai?

बी ए पास...हह...एक और झूठ. ज़रा अपना हुलिया तो देखो. कॉलिज के पढे लिखे ग्रॅजुएट्स की ये सूरत होती है?

Raj : khaa gayee naa aap bhee kapDoN se dhokha!

खा गयीं ना आप भी कपडों से धोखा!
Agar aaj main ek badhiyaa suit pehne, shaandaar gaadee me baiThkar yahaan aataa to shaayad aap mujhe badtameez, jaahil ganwaar na kehteeN…aur isme aapkaa koee dosh nahee hai…jis duniyaa me aap rehtee hain wahaan insaan ke dil aur dimaag kee naheeN, uske kapdo kee izzat hotee hai. Sharkskin ke suit, silk kee kameezen aur georgette kee saaRiyon kee izzat hotee hai.

अगर आज मैं बढिया सूट पहने, शानदार गाडी में बैठकर यहां आता तो शायद आप मुझे बदतमीज़, जाहिल गंवार न कह्तीं ...और इसमे आपका कोई दोष नहीं है...जिस दुनिया में आप रहतीं हैं, वहां इंसान के दिल और दिमाग़ की नहीं, उसके कपडों की इज़्ज़त होती है. शार्कस्किन के सूट, सिल्क की कमीज़ें और जॉर्जॅट की साड़ियों की इज़्ज़त होती है".

Great socialistic monologue which worked very well in that era. But the message in that one line is still relevant. It happens all the time. So either you can keep complaining about it - as Raj does. Or make it work to your advantage. As Raj himself does in the later half of the movie.

Jab aur sab paap kar liye to yahee kyoN rah jaaye

Film : Shree 420

Year of release : 1955

Spoken by : Raj (Raj Kapoor)

Spoken to : Vidya (Nargis)

I used to quite like a couplet by a poet called Anand Narayan Mulla

Vo kaun hain jinhen taubaa kii mil gayee fursat

Hamein to gunaah karne ko bhi zindagi kam hai

वो कौन हैं जिन्हें तौबा की मिल गयी फ़ुर्सत

हमें तो गुनाह करने को भी ज़िन्दगी कम है

This line from Raj Kapoor’s Shree 420 does echo a related thought – though spoken in a slightly defeatist tone.

Raj Kapoor understood rule no 1 of the corporate world. If you want to succeed, put in place a great team. I think he put together a great team. It did pay him rich dividends.

Raj is about to jump into the sea and commit suicide. Vidya sees him and stops him. She says it is a sin to commit suicide. Raj retorts with

जब और सब पाप कर लिये तो यही क्यों रह जाये

It is a very convincing logic when someone says – ek khoon kee sazaa bhee phaansee hai aur do khoon kee bhee. It almost seems to be a different version of the law of diminishing marginal utility. These kind of statements are very difficult to argue against.

The 50s and Raj Kapoor making a debut on this blog.