Exclusive! Here’s the secret behind the super-hit dialogue ‘How’s the Josh?’ from Aditya Dhar’s Uri: The Surgical Strike

Whether it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi using the ‘How’s the Josh?’ slogan at the inauguration of the film museum in Mumbai or the reaction to the Finance Minister Piyush Goyal’s budget presentation in the Parliament, the hit line from Uri: The Surgical Strike has taken the nation by a storm. The dialogue ‘How’s the Josh? High Sir’ from Aditya Dhar’s hit film starring Vicky Kaushal has become all the rage and is easily one of the most popular lines to emerge from Bollywood in recent times. And the credit for the dialogue goes to the film’s director Dhar, who had penned the lines.

In an exclusive chat, when asked about the origin of the dialogue, the filmmaker reveals that it came from his childhood. He shares, “As a child I remember visiting Army Clubs, where I had a senior officer use it to encourage the kids.” Dhar says, “It is something which very few army officers say. As a child I used to go with my friends to the Army Officers Club at Dhaula Kuan. There was this Brigadier who would ask the kids with shouts of ‘How’s the Josh’ and would give chocolates to the one who shouted, ‘High Sir’ the loudest. That has remained with me. Then while researching for the film I did see some officers use it.”

Dhar himself is from Kashmir. As for the film being screened in Kashmir, Dhar admits that he hasn’t been able to go to Kashmir, but has seen the reaction videos from theatres in Jammu. “I’ve seen videos from Jammu theatres and the reactions are really great and very encouraging.”

The popularity of the dialogue can be gauged by the fact that not did PM Modi use it, but the slogan has become a popular print on T-shirts too clearly indicating its assimilation into the pop-culture. Ask Dhar about it, if he had ever imagined the line becoming like an anthem, and he says, “We did not anticipate that at all. It is overwhelming for all of us who are part of the film. We knew it is a special and important film, but didn’t know ki film ko itna pyar aur respect milega.”

What’s a bigger surprise is that the line has gained popularity inspite of being used only four times in the film. “Yes, we’ve used the line only four times in the film,” confirms Dhar, adding, “But it has amplified 1,000 folds and wherever Vicky is going, he is being asked to mouthed the same dialogues with a shout-out from all present at that event. So, yes it is really very overwhelming.” The film is about to touch the 200cr mark at the box office and is still running successfully in theatres across India.