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Farah Khan: Ten Best Scenes in Hindi Cinema

There are very few people who can pull off words like 'dhaasu' without irony, and one of them is Farah Khan, entertainer extraordinare and fully filmi filmmaker.

Here, Farah tells Raja Sen about the Bollywood moments that really get her going, every single time.

Continuing our series celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema.

Rangeela

Director: Ram Gopal Varma

Cast: Aamir Khan, Jackie Shroff, Urmila Matondkar

Rangeela has to feature in the list. The scene where Aamir is wearing his yellow trousers and yellow shirt and he's taking Mili out on a date.

It's a perfect, perfect scene.

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Karz

Director: Subhash Ghai

Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Tina Munim, Simi Garewal, Pran

There's a scene in Karz where after he's reincarnated, Rishi Kapoor finds out that his mother is still alive. He goes to see her, she's living in a jhopri.

It's a fully filmi scene and I totally chepao'd it for my film Om Shanti Om.

It's just such a great scene. I think it's the first reincarnation movie where people didn't look the same. They were played by different actors. And when she recognises him, when she says, 'Tu aa gaya beta.'

I get goose-pimples.

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Johny Mera Naam

Director: Vijay Anand

Cast: Dev Anand, Hema Malini, Pran, Jeevan, Premnath

The climax of Johny Mera Naam. It's one of the best climaxes ever written, ever directed.

If I ever wanted to remake a movie, I'd try to do this one, just for the climax.

Both the brothers, Pran and Dev Anand, have been tied up in the villain's den. Pran is a mole, and they are both trying to outwit him.

Then they bring in the mother Pran hasn't seen since childhood. The first time he realises she's his mother, she's been dragged in. And the mother is a policeman's wife, and she denies that those are her sons. And so this oneupmanship goes on till the very end till the tables are turned.

It's such a great climax, the editing points are perfect and Vijay Anand directs like a dream. It's so good you want to cry.

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Satya

Director: Ram Gopal Varma

Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, J D Chakravarthy, Urmila Matondkar

There are lots of fabulous scenes in Satya, but this one is a real shocker.

When Bhiku Mhatre (played by Manoj Bajpayee) goes on talking... and your mind wanders because he keeps on talking, he goes on and on. And then he's shot. And it blows you away!

As shocking scenes go, it's right up there because the best character in the film is shot. It's amazing.

Another great shot in Satya is when Bhiku comes home drunk and his wife beats him up.

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Half Ticket

Director: Kalidas

Cast: Kishore Kumar, Madhubala, Pran

There's a scene in Half Ticket that shows the complete extent of Kishore Kumar's madness and his genius.

His father has arranged for people to come and see him as a suitable groom.

You'll fall down laughing when you see that scene. He walks like a girl, and changes his voice. I'm 100 percent sure it's impossible to write a scene like that.

He's obviously improvising and nobody else could do it like him.

It's one of the most hilarious scenes.

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Khuda Gawah

Director: Mukul Anand

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi, Kiran Kumar

Khuda Gawah had another great climax. The movie wasn't great, but that climax was one of the best I've seen in mainstream, commercial cinema.

The entire climax was around that title song. Amitabh Bachchan gets shot and falls in the sand... And the reunion between the old Sridevi and the old Amitabh Bachchan. You get tears, goosebumps when she touches his beard and it's all white now.

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Purab Aur Paschim

Director: Manoj Kumar

Cast: Manoj Kumar, Ashok Kumar, Saira Banu, Pran

In Purab Aur Paschim, there's one of the nicer patriotic scenes which is patriotic without going jingoistic.

There's a scene set in a rotating restaurant, where Pran, who has left India, is completely running India down and Manoj Kumar is taking up for India.

And there's that song Jab Zero Diya. That's the last time you feel you can write a song like that; today you'll just be at a loss.

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Yaadon Ki Baraat

Director: Nasir Hussain

Cast: Dharmendra, Zeenat Aman, Vijay Arora, Tariq Hussain, Ajit

In Yaadon Ki Baraat, when the three brothers are finally reunited.

It's such a great scene, about that song one of them is singing. He sings that song every time, in the hope that the brother will hear that song from their childhood, and he ends every show with the title song in case his brother is in the audience.

As far as lost-and-found goes, that's a classic.

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Mr India

Director: Shekhar Kapur

Cast: Anil Kapoor, Sridevi, Amrish Puri

One of my favourite scenes ever is in Mr India -- when the kids are hungry and Sridevi comes with the pastries etc, and they become friends. It's impossible not to get teary-eyed.

The other favourite scene is when Bob Christo is beaten up by the Hanuman statue and forced to say Jai Bajrang Bali.

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Masoom

Director: Shekhar Kapur

Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi

The best moment in Masoom comes when the boy tells him that he knows he's his father.

'Main jaanta hoon ki aap mere Daddy ho.'

The father has been trying to hide it for so long, and then he just tells him.

The whole movie is so wonderful, but that scene... Amazing.