"Hum jahaan khade hote hain, line waheen se shuru hoti hai. [The queue begins with me, always.]" It is not surprising that this popular line has come to the fore once again in the form of jokes and memes as cash-strapped people find themselves in endless queues outside banks and ATMS.
While most people relate the dialogue to 'Angry Young Man' Amitabh Bachchan, he wasn't the first actor to mouth it. It was the Australian Bob Christo, who usually essayed villainous parts, who first utters the line in the 1981 blockbuster Kaalia, starring Bachchan.
In a scene reminiscent of Hollywood, Christo played a big prison bully who is feared by the other inmates. It’s lunchtime, and the inmates are required to queue up for their ration of rice and dal. Ram Sethi played a crippled prisoner who is first in the queue but has Christo snatching away his plate. On being challenged, Christo chides Sethi's character in his Aussie Hindi: "Hum jahaan khade hote hain, line waheen se shuru hoti hai.”
Simple Hindi words, but the way they came out of the intimidating Australian's mouth was majestic. Watch the footage below to relive the scene which begins at 8 minutes 30 seconds.