Breathless

Breathless I was!!

That epic moment when Amitabh Bachchan made me breathless!

“Sonia tumhe pata hai ye revolver khali hai, mujhe pata hai ye revolver khali hai;

.. Lekin police ko nahi pata yeh revolver khali hai!”

(High pitch background music following this dialogue: something like ‘Tain Tain!!’)

I was 13 years old in 2006 when my dad sat with me and made me watch the 1978 classic Don. It was the time when Shah Rukh Khan starrer Don, a remake of the former classic was going to release. Dad thought why not revisit the old classic before watching the new one. Dad was 13 when he watched the legendary Shri Amitabh Bachchan’s Don. I was 13 when the legendary Shah Rukh Khan’s Don was releasing. A sort of history was going to repeat! I was not quite inclined to watching old movies naturally as every kid. But here, I was quite excited as the character Don was stuck in my mind!

Right from when the movie started, my eyes were glued to the TV screen. The entry of Big B, the wonderful dialogues, the way Don spoke, the way he walked! It was all over my mind. Don killed Ramesh and his fiancé Kamini was here to take revenge. The set up for the song ‘Yeh mera dil pyar ka deewana..’! Kamini removes bullets from Don’s pistol much to his disguise. She seduces him till the police arrive for Don’s arrest. The song ends with Don seeing from the window, several policemen waiting to arrest him. Understanding Kamini’s intentions, Don brings up his pistol from another room. Kamini tells her that she had already emptied the pistol. In a series of dialogues between smart Kamini and Don, Kamini tells Don that it was no way out for him and he will have to surrender. Finally, Don tells the dialogue which I wrote above, making me jerk, leaving me completely breathless!

‘Wow!! Simply awesome… What a dialogue!’ I said. Not only the dialogue which was so witty, so suspenseful; the Kalyanji Anandji music at the end of the dialogue gave me a sudden jerk. I was left breathless with the magic of Big B’s aura. I watched the full movie that day and Don was on my mind for many many days to come! This is how I became a fan of ‘Sadee ka Mahanayak’ Shri Amitabh Bachchan. After Don, I watched many of ‘The Angry Young Man’s cult classics: Deewar, Trishul, Kala Pather, Sholay to name a few. Every movie made me even bigger fan of Big B and each movie left his charisma on me. His dialogues, his style, his aura left me breathless every time.

I was contemplating and recollecting the moments that made me breathless. I was walking towards my home today, coming from a class. I was sweating and the polo T-shirt I was wearing was the one without buttons. I felt that my chest hairs were revealed to the on lookers. Also I have not shaved recently. While I was walking past girls, my walk changed to a confident, stubble young man who doesn’t give a damn! I was showing of, creating an impression! The image of Big B in his young days came to my mind. I suddenly recalled the epic scene of Don which first made me breathless watching the legend on screen. I was like Wow! What an epic moment to remember! I was all smiles!!! J J