'How's the josh?," the dialogue from Vicky Kaushal's blockbuster film Uri: The Surgical Strike has been quite a hit with the people across the country. From Prime Minister Narendra Modi making a reference to the dialogue while addressing a crowd during the inauguration of National Museum of Indian Cinema to the Indian cricket team chanting "how's the josh"after their victory against New Zealand in ODI series, the phrase has now gone insanely viral. But have you wondered how this dialogue came to be a part of the script? Director of Uri Aditya Dhar, who is also the scriptwriter of the film, in his interview to news agency PTI reveals that the phrase comes from a childhood memory.
"I had some friends from Defence background, so with them I used to go to a lot of Army clubs. There was one in Delhi where we used to go for Christmas or New Year parties. There used to be a retired Brigadier who would line up all the kids in front of him and have a chocolate in his hand. He would say 'How's the josh?' and we were to respond with 'high sir!' The kid who was the loudest got the chocolate. Being a foodie, I used to be the loudest and always got the chocolate," PTI quoted the filmmaker as saying.
Aditya Dhar said that the line was always a part of his memory and Uri was the "perfect" film for it to be used. "The line was there right from the first draft. As a writer, we write according to our personal experiences, our memories. It is an amalgamation of everything. I had the line with me in my memory and this was the perfect film for it to come out," he added.
Last week, in a long note on his Instagram profile Vicky Kaushal wrote that "How's the josh?" is not just a line anymore but it has turned into an "emotion." "It's not just a line anymore. I get so many "How's the Josh?!" videos from you all every day, each one made with so much love and passion, from schools, colleges, cafes, work places... from people fighting the cold in minus temperatures to people sweating it out in the gym, from conference meetings to marriage ceremonies, from a 92-years-old grandmother to a two-years-old kid, from even our jawaans in the armed forces. It's not just a line anymore, you all have turned it into an emotion... an emotion so strong and special, I'm going to cherish for life. Thank you everyone," he wrote.
Uri, which is based on the surgical strikes carried out by the Indian Army in Pakistan following the 2016 terror attacks in Uri base camp, is 2019's first blockbuster. The film opened to mixed reviews at the box office. Apart from Vicky Kaushal, the film also stars Yami Gautam, Kirti Kulhari, Paresh Rawal and Mohit Raina. The film is inches away from cruising past the Rs 200 crore mark.
(With PTI inputs)
