Utterly Butterly

There has been a lot of uproar (2 comments, precisely) over my last post being too personal. But then, with an identified readership of 7, two disgruntled readers constitute very close to a majority. So, I have decided to go unabashedly mainstream and write on a topic which EVERYONE in India just loves - advertisements for Amul Butter!
Show me a guy who does not like that cute, chubby girl with hilarious puns and I will show you Raj Thackeray!

For a very long time in Calcutta, just one hoarding in the entire city (outside Minto Park) was reserved for Amul and if I did not pass the area for an extended period of time, I used to worry about the lines I was missing. One of the earliest ones I remember was a take on the Iskcon craze and it urged people to Hurry Home Hurry to Amul!

So, here is my attempt at playing to the galleries and list down my 10 Favourite Amul ad lines.

1. When Pat Cash defeated Ivan Lendl at the Wimbledon - Cash is Better than Czech.

2. After Maradona's performance at World Cup 86 - Marad 'ona to aisa hona / Butter hona to Amul hona.
But after he cried foul in World Cup 90, they turned the above line around and said - Marad 'ona? Phir Matha eus karo!

3. After the release of Shahenshah - Rich taste mein toh yeh sabke baap hote hain. Naam hain Amul-tabh Makkhan.

4. After Manmohan Desai's death - Amar, Akbar, Anthony aur Amul.

5. At the time of the Y2K problem - Y 2 K (Yes 2 Khana)

6. After Aamir Khan's singing debut - Khati kya? Makhan dala!

7. After Rabri Devi becoming the Bihar CM - Patni for Patna

8. On the promises of the 1991 General Elections - Roti, Kapdaa aur Makkhan.
(A famous ad agency once released their recruitmen ad with the headline - Roti, Kapdaa aur McCaan!)

9. After India won an ODI series, leading to a patriotic surge - One Day Mataram.

10. After the T20 World Cup victory - Anhoni ko Dhoni Karde.

The best lines are the one which took on a hot topic of the day and put a buttery twist to it. I came across a recent one on the 'net, which was a take on Kamalhaasan's latest film called Dasaavatharam. The headline was Dus Butterum and the sub-head said Kamaal ka Makkhan.

In fact, all the ads are now available on the Amul website.
One day, I will trawl through the entire list and expand my list. Because it is evident from the current list, all my favourite lines have a filmi bias and are from the mid 80s to the early 90s (which is as far my memory agrees to go).
So, what's your favourite Amul line?

Comments

Aqua said…
Ah, a post after my own heart. delurking after a long time so that i can be accounted for, the next time you do a readership census.

one of my favs would be "Mogambo, Dukh hua". Yeah filmi bias there but I thought it was a poignant tribute to a great actor.
Anonymous said…
do one on the (political) wall-writings in cal!
SD said…
A wonderful post, put a smile on my face. :) You have an amazing memory.... Imagine remembering the lines from all those years back.

I liked one that said 'Bun, Tea aur Butterly'... take on Bunty Aur Babli'.
Anamika said…
I am a regular reader and one of the rare ones who came here first and found the Mad Momma's blog from here, rather than the other way round :D
Pointless or pointful (whats the right word?) its always fun to read your posts.
Anonymous said…
there's one that's still stuck in my mind- when Michael Stich beat Boris Becker to win Wimbledon in 1991, they came up with -
'Stich' to the winner! All the others 'Beck-aar' hai!
Anonymous said…
Dish Chahta Hain...based on Dil Chahta Hain...filmy bias again :)

And count me as one of your loyal readers as well.

PK
Anonymous said…
I work for Amul in kolkata...gud 2 see u write abt Amul..currently there are 3 topicals hardings in kolkata--minto park, ultadanga airport crossing & em bypass--infront of Mani Square.
sumana001 said…
I have a tiny part about the effect of these ads on small town Bengal in a book I am writing. I liked your post very much. Sumana.
--xh-- said…
I remember lot of them from childhood - and they always brought a smile on our face with the mild twist :)

first visit, and gonna come back often.. u r nw in my Google reader daily dose :)
Anonymous said…
I am not from India so I dont know about the Amul ads but the lines are quite catchy..

Now I have to thank you for the Karna post below, My dh and I had quite the discussion over breakfast today and I threw out "BTW did you know that Shayla Karna's own charioteer was against him" and act like that's common knowledge..my dh knew all the other tidbits.:)

Now you need to do one on Ram, Sita and gang..:)
Great post - loved (and still do) the Amul topicals. Religiously visit the site every couple of weeks to get my chuckle fix. In fact, in one of our writers' workshops, Bharat Dhabolkar inspired us much with his story on the creative freedom Amul gave them for these witty topicals.
Rima said…
Awesome post again !
Waise you must be getting really popular to get people annoyed by your posts :P.
Squiggles Mom said…
Yaadein taaza kar di :).....
Rambler said…
Nice collection..would have been more fun if the images were also present..
It reminded me of the days when i used to twist my neck and look up at the Amul hoarding on my way to school/college!
IssacMJ said…
Just forwarded you a best of Amul collection I'd in my inbox to your rediffmail. Swayed towards the Box Office again but like all Amul ads as topical and timeless at the same time.