Thanks to everyone who came up with a drilling-for-oil scene.  This scene
was at the climax of a recent (1980s) Hindi comedy which was supposed to be
"a remake of an English [language] comedy."  I'm not always real good on
spot the reference, and this particular film didn't remind me of anything
except for this scene. It was about the heiress to a large business and the
men who keep chasing her. Eventually one of the men strikes the oil while
attempting to be a farmer.
 
Bombay producers routinely remake American, Japanese, Hong Kong, etc.
movies and these remakes come in 3 forms--the direct copy (BLOOD BLOOD for
DIRTY HARRY), the insert (WITNESS becomes MURDER, but only part of the
story is used), and the blender special (my favorite being DEFEAT AND
VICTORY, which uses the plot of FATAL ATTRACTION but combines elements of
SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME to make the hero and heroine more sympathetic and
more "Indian."  If the comedy above is one of these, then probably only
this scene comes from the West, or from one particular film. The
specialists in blending are/were Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, who wrote
SHOLAY (elements of BUTCH CASSIDY, THE GREAT DICTATOR, ..., ...).
 
If I find out, I'll let you know.  You might all be right!
 
Carol