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 (1975)

Character : Vijay Verma (Amitabh Bachchan)

Said to: Mulkraj Dawar (Iftekhar)

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.