Andaz Apna Apna still remains the ultimate dictionary for Millennials and Gen Z alike

Andaz Apna Apna released three decades ago, however, its quirky one-liners are still quoted thanks to the power of reruns and meme culture.

As an extremely shy person who wouldn't prefer to be anywhere but her own home, socialising or befriending people in general feels like a mammoth task that brings me a great deal of stress and anxiety! However, there are a few things that spark instant connections and put me at ease with a new acquaintance quickly, movie references topping that list. I know I’m going to share great compatibility with a person if they understand and add on an inner joke or punchline from a movie. And if you’re a 90s kid who grew up watching Bollywood films, there is no prize for guessing which movie I, actually we as a generation, refer to the most! Released in 1994, Rajkumar Santoshi’s evergreen comedy Andaz Apna Apna (AAA), despite being a box office failure, still enjoys a cult status thanks to its brilliantly chaotic comedy and quirky catchphrases that have become an integral part of our daily conversations. AAA, isn’t a film but a language in itself that has offered the perfect, universally understood phrase for almost every comedic or awkward situation. Director Rajkumar Santoshi and co-writer Dilip Shukla curated dialogues that were snappy, absurd, and instantly memorable, that entered the common vernacular in no time and have remained fresh to date. 

Also Read: Andaz Apna Apna - An ultimate meme factory and timeless buddy comedy that continues to reign our hearts!

Here we take a look at some of the film's most iconic lines!

Galti se mistake ho gaya 

The innocent admission by Robert (Viju Khote), is now a go-to-line used among Bollywood buffs to own up to a blunder. The intelligently silly construction of the phrase was in complete line with the film’s brilliantly absurd and self-aware humor. 

Aila! and Ui Maa!

Amar (Aamir Khan) andPrem(Salman Khan) gave us the ultimate expressions of awe and surprise in Alia! and Ui Maa! respectively. Their signature catchphrases have been used to register an instant reaction to amusing events during our daily conversations, especially on social media.

Main toh kehta hoon aap purush hi nahin, mahapurush hain!

Amar’s quirky confrontation with Crime Master Gogo (Shakti Kapoor), gave the world this backhanded compliment that friends still use to take a sarcastic dig at a friend. It's both over-the-top and mischievous!

Kaleja thanda ho gaya mera!

Teja (Paresh Rawal) had a hard time accomplishing missions with his slow-witted henchmen Bhalla (Shehzad Khan) and Robert and delivered this iconic phrase when the two displayed their incompetence yet again. Since then, the phrase has been used ironically to praise someone for a foolish act.

Kuud kuud ke chalega!

I still think about the innocence with which Prem expressed his excited agreement for a self-sponsored film with conmanJohnny (Mehmood). He bore heavy losses but we gained the ultimate one-liner to show our excitement towards an arrangement!

Do dost ek hi pyale mein chai peeyenge, isse dosti badhti hai!

This is the note on which Amar-Prem’s epic saga of a love-hate friendship began, and since then became a line that defined true brotherhood, after all, you cannot be BFFs if you cannot sip tea from the same cup. 

Chit tu haara… pat main jeeta!

A punchline that defined Amar’s shrewdness and Prem’s innocence, Chit tu haara… pat main jeeta is that phrase without which a coin-toss between desi buddies is hard to imagine, especially if they are quarreling over something as important as who’d bat first in a game of gully cricket or which place to order food from!

Unka ek sawaal, humare do-do jawaab. Sawaal ek, jawab do!

Amar-Prem’s iconic cover-up after miserably failing to impress Mr. Bajaj (Paresh Rawal), this dialogue is often plugged in to fake a victory when you have clearly messed up a situation! An example of it could be boasting about how you aced your viva in front of your friends, while you were actually clueless in front of the examiner the whole time!

Yeh Teja Teja kya hai, yeh Teja Teja?!

Gogo’s iconic one-liner, IMO, is the highest expression of confusion and a cry for seeking clarity over a frustrating situation. 

Happy Birthday Rabert!

You cannot be a 90s kid if you haven’t wished your BFF saying, "Happy Birthday Rabert" at least once in your life! It might look like a simple line on paper, but the OGs know how it added to the chaos of the ‘sherbet’ scene and made it into a laugh riot owing to its self-aware absurdity!

Andaz Apna Apna’s journey from a commercial failure to a linguistic landmark can be attributed to its repeat value and the era of meme culture. In the years after its release, the film became a staple on cable television, and its timely re-runs over the decades ensured that entire generations of Indian millennials and Gen Z grew up watching the film repeatedly. The scenes were not just seen once, but were memorized through countless viewings, resulting in shared, word-for-word knowledge of the script! The digital age is now adding to the longevity of the film as netizens are making full use of the evergreen comedy scenes in meme captions and reaction GIFs, further ensuring the vocabulary of the film remains constantly relevant to a young, digital audience.

How often do you quote this film? Tell us in the comments below!