Revisiting Khosla Ka Ghosla: 10 years of Uncleji and Chiraunji

On 22nd September, 2006, a small Delhi-based production house and a team of fresh cast & crew members gave us a movie that was to open new gates in Hindi Cinema – the concept of multiplex movie, foray of UTV Motion Pictures into backing many such movies, frequent usage of Delhi as a character and a director called Dibakar Bannerjee

Personally, I feel that Khosla Ka Ghosla is way up there with Andaaz Apna Apna as far as recall value of characters and dialogues from a modern-day comedy is concerned. Where it goes a couple of notches higher is the reality in which the conflicts and resolutions of a middle-class family have been set. So much so that we are ready to overlook the outlandish plot the family devises to outsmart the evil land-shark.

Ten years later, I have lost count of people who feel a sudden rush of joy at the mere mention of the movie. And then its a matter of time before the discussion steers towards several one-liners from the film with one guy completing from where the other one had left.

So I thought that its only fair to list down the top 10 most recollected lines from the film which have made it the cult favourite that it is over the past 10 years.

“Chiraunji to khaane ki cheez hoti hai naa”

Dibaker frequently talks about the difference in wants and needs of his characters. Even here, the want of Chiraunji Lal (Parvin Dabas) is to change his name whereas his actual need is an escape from his humble middle-class backgrounds. The line above of course belongs to  Vinay Pathak. To think that he was being considered for the role of Khurana (finally played by Boman Irani) leaves us wondering who else could have played the role of street-smart visa agent better.

“Hold the drink”

In a role reversal of sorts, the father tries to win over his son through a glass of drink. In any other situation, the father would have been proud when his son would have told him that he doesn’t drink alcohol. But here it is perceived as yet another rejection of his ways. Once again the want of the character (having a drink with his son) is very different from his actual need (approval and respect from his son).

“Yahaan peshaab thode hi karne aaye hain hum”

Sector-30, Plot No. 32 stopped being another address for Hindi film-buffs at this point in the film. Jaideep Sahni had written the story based on a real-life account of one of his relatives who had lost all their hard earned money to a property swindler. Sahni’s genius lies in the fact that as he takes us through the humiliation of family at the hands of Khurana and his men, he keeps the character quirks intact, leaving us smiling throughout.

“Aapka hai to le lo”

Low-key lighting and low angle shot throughout the introductory scene of Khurana has to be one of the best introductions for a Hindi film antagonist ever. Kamal Kishore Khosla (Anupam Kher) tries in vain to win him over by his goodness. So much so that he doesn’t even bother to look at his son (Ranvir Shorey) when Khurana shoos him out of the room. And when he asks him to take away the plot if it belonged to him, he believes his ordeals had come to an end. Alas! Reality strikes him hard only a couple of scenes later.

“Jo kaydaa hai so hai.. maro chot”

The entire pehelwaan sequence is one of the most memorable ones in the film. It further plays with the ensuing love and tension between the father and his son as they give each other silent company inside the car while the illegal boundary wall gets broken down brick by brick.

“Aap party hain ya broker!”

Easily the most recollected line from the movie delivered by an actor who never got his due from Hindi Cinema as a leading man. Navin Nischol made a comeback of sorts with this film. As he transitions himself from a nervous theatre actor, forced into this playact, to an NRI businessman who must chew the air around him with his pompous confidence, the audience feels a sense of triumph as they see even the sly Khurana falling for his act.

“…To aap chup rehne ka kya lenge?”

Another dialogue from the previous scene delivered by Navin Nischol again. But the laughs in the scene come from the red-faced reaction to the line by the very under-rated Rajendra Sethi (Vijaynder). He along with Rajesh Sharma (Munjal) and Nitish Pandey (Mani) contribute to many memorable scenes in the film completing the canvas which shows the entire spectrum of characters from Delhi.

“Koi chatni wagaira hai?”

The difference in approach to the same problem by father and son shows us the divide between Nehruvian and post-liberalisation India. The difficulty in eating Pizza, another evil brought in by a free market, by the retired Government servant, further highlights the divide. The role for Khosla was initially offered to Kher’s contemporary and another fine actor Paresh Rawal. It would have been interesting to see his take on the character as well!

“India duniya ka saatva sabse bada desh hai.. zameen ki kumi thodi hi hai”

Bannerjee and Sahni don’t miss the chance to remind us that in a country, that features amongst the world’s largest ones, several of us still remain homeless. Its a jibe at socialism and perhaps an approval of the way in which the son goes about in grabbing the land back from Khurana.

“Jai mata di!”

The fact that a Muslim character mouths this line on their victory over the evil is a reflection of how lines blur amidst us in our everyday lives. In a multilingual and multicultural country like ours, a “shukriya” sounds as sweet as a “thank you”. The makers drove home this point without much chest-thumping and that makes this moment stand out. To think that a more realistic ending, with Khurana finding out the truth and taking back the land, was being considered by Dibakar is hard to digest at this point. Thankfully, Sahni convinced him to give the audience the victory they deserved through a happier ending.

Here is leaving you all with another happy moment from the film – the enormously popular track “Chak De Phatte”. Enjoy!

Images courtesy: Gaurab Sundar Dutta via Chobighar – the Darkroom