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10 Punch Dialogues of Tamil Cinema |
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Punch
dialogues, contrary to popular opinion,
are not something new and they have
always there in movies, even in Hollywood
ones, for that matter. For a punch
dialogue to reach the masses and to
remain embedded in their consciousness,
it is not required that the dialogue
should get repeated often. Clark Gable’s
‘Frankly, my dear, I don’t
give a damn’ in ‘Gone
with the wind’ has been one
of the immortal lines ever. Which
tells you that a dialogue just delivered
once with telling effect is often
enough. And who can forget Marlon
Brando’s ‘Make me an offer
I can’t refuse’ in ‘Godfather’? |
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For a punch dialogue to enter the
hall of fame, it should meet certain
qualifications. One, it should be
able to stand the test of time; another
is that the dialogue should get so
popular that it should unobtrusively
become part of our everyday language.
Have a look at our collection of some
of the best ‘punch’ dialogues
ever to grace the Tamil silver screen! |
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10.‘Manandal
Maha Devi. Illayael Marana Devi!’
– P S Veerappa, the evil scheming
minister does not just stop with one
of his trademark guffaws but also
has the temerity to announce his liking
for Savithri, the Princess Mahadevi
, and steals thunder from an upcoming
handsome hero MGR with this punch
line in Mahadevi.
9.‘Sabaash, sariyana
potti!’ – P S
Veerappa goes ballistic, watching
the competition between the dancing
sensations of those times, Padmini
and Vyjayanti Mala, with this innocuous
but popular line in ‘Vanchi
Kottai Valiban’.
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You
hear this piece of dialogue even today
whenever two beautiful females appear
in public places and someone has said
this dialogue is a “gentleman’s
version of a wolf-whistle.”
8. ‘Netrikann thirapinum
kutram kutramae!’ –
A P Nagarajan is not one to be outdone
by an angry Shiva (Sivaji) who arrives
at the durbar of the Pandian King
to defend the ditty he ghostwrites
for Dharumi and comes up with this
classic one-liner in Thiruvilayadal.
Has almost attained the status of
a literary metaphor and probably has
even inspired someone to start a magazine
bearing that name. |
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7.
‘Nee munthinda nokku, naan munthinda
nekku’ – Prestige
Padmanabhan Sivaji feels traumatized
after his retirement from service
and also by the neglect and indifference
of his beloved children. He has only
this one-liner to console his wife
Padmini in ‘Vietnam Veedu’
and the handkerchiefs come out to
stifle the sobs and sniffs from the
ladies section of the hall.
6.‘Parattai, patthavachitiyae
parattai!’ –
16 Vayathinile is a watershed film
in the Tamil cinema history for it
irrevocably altered the course of
movies made this side of Cooum. Bharathiraja
came into his own, Ilayaraja the maestro
gave the music lovers a taste of things
to come and Rajini, Kamal and Sridevi
showed they had arrived.
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If
Sappani ('Aathaa Aadu valathuchu...kozhi
valathuchu...naay valakkala...') got rave
reviews and awards, it was Rajini (‘Idhu
eppadi irukku’) who walked away with
the front benchers’ whistles. But,
no one can forget this dialogue which continues
to be in vogue and used in every day conversation
even now. The Goundamani phenomenon was
born with this movie and thanks to ‘Parattai’,
he has gone on to give many kick-ass (?!)
performances with his dim-witted deputy,
the semi-trousered Senthil. |
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5.‘Neenga
nallavara kettavara?’
– The grandson of Varadaraja
Naicker (Kamal Hassan) asks a seemingly
innocent question in ‘Nayagan’,
little knowing its deep philosophical
implications. Naicker is stumped and
says he does not know. Was the do-gooder
criminal a good guy or a bad one?
Was this question meant for the viewers?
4. ‘Kadavulae, Kadavulae’-
Rajini to Kushboo in Annamalai. Thanks
to a comedy with a snake and this
classic line. |
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Also, this film incidentally was the first
one that carried ‘Super Star’
Rajini in graphics in the opening credits. |
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3.‘Mannippu,
thamizhla enakku pidikkatha vaarthai!’
–Statistics and violence prone
Professor Ramana takes up arms to
protect the society against corrupt
officials and with this classic quote,
polishes off vermin, in Eastwoodian
style. The line has entered into every
day language and has been parodied
tirelessly, an indication of the popularity
of a dialogue. Some say that this
was the movie that brought out the
politician in Vijayakanth to the fore.
If ‘Captain’ ever has
a successful political career, then
this line will probably attain a cult
status among his followers. |
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2.‘Maapu,
vechuttanya aappu!’
– ‘Neenga engiyo poittenga
saar’ says an admiring ‘Yettu’
to his smirking boss Janagaraj in
‘Apoorva Sahodarargal’
and caused a laugh riot among Tamil
audiences across the world. But, the
number two status has to go to Vadivelu
who brought the theatre down with
his antics with this one in Chandramukhi.
And one never knew what happened to
‘Kovalu’ whose search
he was on! |
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1.‘Naan
oru thadavai sonna nooru thadavai
sonna madhiri’ –
If one were to name a dialogue as
the ‘mother of all punch dialogues’,
then this one has to get the honor.
(There is an interesting story behind
the origin of this quote. While at
home, Rajini, once overheard his wife
Latha scolding their children, when
they were showing slackness in doing
their homework. Like a school teacher,
she told them angrily, “I can’t
repeat things again and again. If
I explain something once then that
means I have explained to you hundred
times!” And thus an immortal
line that would launch a thousand
parodies was born.) |
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The
quote shows no signs of decline in popularity
despite the passage of time – the
movie appeared a decade ago - and it still
remains the pet theme of many mimicry artistes,
copywriters and writers of SMS jokes. Another
charm of ‘Naan oru thadavai sonna’
is that no one but Rajini could have pulled
it off the way he did it in ‘Baasha’.
In fact, it would be right to say that the
concept of punch dialogues for heroes started
only after the arrival of this gem of a
dialogue! |
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| Everyone
has his own list of favourites and this just
happens to be the list of our editorial team.
We invite our readers to send their comments
along with their own list of Top Ten to: behindw@behindwoods.com |
