Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006)

Director:

Rajkumar Hirani

Writers:

Vidhu Vinod Chopra (screenplay)
Rajkumar Hirani (writer)

Release Date:

1 September 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

Munnabhai meets Mahatma Gandhi

Plot:

Munnabhai meets Mahatma Gandhi.

Plot Keywords:

Professor Of History | Radio Jockey | Beach | Non Violence | Male Bonding

Awards:

4 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Sanjay Dutt	...	Murliprasad 'Munna Bhai' Sharma
Arshad Warsi	...	Sarkeshwar 'Circuit'
Vidya Balan	...	Jhanvi
Boman Irani	...	Lakhbir 'Lucky' Singh
Dilip Prabhavalkar	...	Mahatma Gandhi
Diya Mirza	...	Simran L. Singh
Jimmy Shergill	...	Victor D'Souza
Kulbhushan Kharbanda	...	Kkhurana
Saurabh Shukla	...	Batuk Maharaj
Abhishek Bachchan	...	Sunny Kkhurana
Rohitash Gaud	...	Cuckoo, Lucky Singh's secretary
Parikshat Sahni	...	D'Souza
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dr. Hemu Adhikari	...	Old Pensioner
Arun Bali
Atmaram Bhende	...	Atmaram, the old father
Kurush Deboo	...	Dhansukh Bhai Patel, Gujarati Lawyer
Bomie E. Dotiwala
Ashwin Mushran	...	Hari Desai
Achyut Potdar	...	2nd Innings' resident
Anjan Srivastav	...	2nd Innings' resident

Also Known As:

Munnabhai 2nd Innings (India: Hindi title) (working title)
Munnabhai Meets Mahatma Gandhi (India: English title) (working title)

Runtime:

144 min

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

India:U | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

India

Company:

Vinod Chopra Productions

Trivia:

The original script for the sequel was supposed to be based on lawyers, as a follow up to the doctor story in Munnabhai 1. Raju Hirani was not happy with the script and continued working for 2 years to develop the perfect sequel. Few episodes regarding lawyers were anyway incorporated in this movie.

Quotes:

Jhanvi: Good Morninnnnnnnng, Mumbaaaaaaai

Movie Connections:

References 1942: A Love Story (1993)

Munna Meets Mahatma Gandhi!!

The second innings of Munna Bhai and Ciruit in 'Lage Raho Munna Bhai' is one cracker of an innings! It's better than the first one, extracts more laughs and punches and the characters have a more humane temperament that explores the other side of 'bhaigiri'. The plot is truly the winning card of the movie, not to discount the effective casting, dialogues that are a mix of funny and introspective, a rib-tickling screenplay, enjoyable situational songs and a first rate direction. Sanjay Dutt as Munna Bhai and Arshad Warsi as Circuit wear their characters as their second skins, more comfortably, more snuggly and are more lovable than their avatars in the earlier Munna Bhai MBBS. Ditto for Boman Irani who dons the role of Lucky Singh, a sardarji builder; a meanie with a heart. Vidya Balan also puts her best foot forward as a radio jockey who makes Dutt's heart goes hmmm... Dia Mirza and Jimmy Shergill justify their cameo appearances. A surprise element during the climax is a thoughtful addition and cheers the audience, specially the female audience threefold. Though the film is not a sequel to Munna Bhai MBBS, Lage Raho Munna Bhai retains the characters of Munna and Circuit in the lead roles and their nontoxic, almost childlike idiosyncrasies. This idea also gives an unlimited scope for possibilities the hit pair of Munna and Circuit can indulge into in future. Lage Raho Munna Bhai is a story about Murli Prasad Sharma aka Munna who meets Mahatma Gandhi and undergoes a heart transformation. For Munna, breaking bones and abducting people at the snap of his fingers was easier than the courage it required to walk on the path of non-violence and truth. Hesitatingly and unwittingly he takes the road less traveled, which is thorny and full of obstacles in return for self revelation and a guilt-free conscience that fears nothing and no-one. The 'Gandhivad' is turned into 'Gandhigiri' by self proclaimed Professor Murli Prasad Sharma for its practical implementation in the present day, without sounding preachy or heavy-duty. There is a similar 'offering the other cheek' when someone slaps you, confessions of truth and also the 'satyagrah' for a bunch of old people who lose their house called 'Second Innings' to the manipulative and greedy Lucky Singh. Sad but true that our nation won freedom but lost its people, Murli tries to revive faith, courage, truth and justice in people from different walks of life. With his new found ideology or the chemical 'locha' in his brain, he triumphs over the cynics or the lost souls and also wins the love of his life. An interesting observation can be made between Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra's 'Rang De Basanti' and Rajkumar Hirani's 'Lage Raho Munna Bhai', the fact that though the theme of both films is more or less the same, the approach to resolving the conflict is in complete contrast with each other, like two ends of the same thread. Yet both films succeed in their own unique ways and deliberate the depths of human emotions and reflections in an identical manner. In the end, hats off to Vidhu Vinod Chopra for producing a film that is a wholesome entertainer and succeeds in giving a heartfelt message in the times where films are made merely to fulfill the whims and fancies of egoistic filmmakers.

-Nidhi Kathuria