Mere Paas Maa Hai | Deewaar | My Take | Under Lens

From Mother India to Tare Zameen Par, mothers always had a special place in Indian cinema. The emotions for motherly love have no parallel. Even love for spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend stand no case infront of love for mothers. So, when Amitabh Bachchan crosses the entrance of a temple for well being of his mother, it evokes same emotion in every person watching that scene. However there is another dialogue from the same movie that is remembered as arguably the most iconic of all the dialogues involving a mother... 'Mere Paas Maa Hai'.

Vijay is worried about well being of his younger brother Shekhar who can fell prey to the vicious plans of criminals. He wants Shekhar to leave his job of police and stay with him. A righteous person, Shekhar, is not ready to leave the path of Right. Vijay tries to lure and challenge him with his iconic statement... "Mere Paas Bangla Hai Gaadi Hai..." His anger  is evident. There is a hint of mock as well. Shekhar, in his job, can't even dream of having all these luxuries of life. His stubborn behaviour won't reap any dividend.

Shekhar replies with... "Mere Paas Maa Hai". He puts their mother on balance against all the luxuries of life and finds that she is the most valuable asset of their life. Vijay might have accumulated all the wealth but is still poor because he is deprived of the love of their mother. He took so much trouble to get all this success but their mother is not ready to accept all this because his ways were wrong, his money is dirty.

The location and mood of the scene is perfect. Its well complemented by some brilliant background score. Direction is remarkable. Though its a simple scene, its execution might have been very difficult. The dialogue delivery and emotions should match every technical hook. Finally Actors. Do I need to say anything?

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh