| Munna Bhai film series | |
|---|---|
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| Created by | Rajkumar Hirani |
| Original work | Munna Bhai MBBS (2003) |
| Owner | Vinod Chopra Films |
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) |
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| Audio | |
| Soundtrack(s) |
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| Miscellaneous | |
| Portrayers |
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Munna Bhai is an Indian Hindi-language film series created, written and directed by Rajkumar Hirani and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra under the Vinod Chopra Productions banner. It consists of Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., released in 2003, and its sequel, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, in 2006. The films share the same characters of Sanjay Dutt as Munna Bhai and Arshad Warsi as Circuit, with different plot elements and settings. Boman Irani features in each film as different characters. Both of the films received widespread critical acclaim and became huge commercial successes of their time.[1][2][3][4]
Murli Prasad Sharma, nicknamed "Munna Bhai," is a good-hearted local gangster who engages in criminal activities. Munna Bhai pretends to be a doctor in order to impress his father, but after being revealed as a gangster to his father, who feels insulted, he decides to go to a medical college to obtain an M.B.B.S. degree to prove he can become a real doctor. The film follows Munna's extremely well-played struggle as he learns about the medical system and makes his way through the renowned medical college run by dean Dr. Asthana, the very man who insulted his father. He continues to cheat his way through college but changes over time while also instilling a more heartfelt and sensitive approach to patient care in the hospital.
In the second installment of the series, Munna Bhai poses as a professor of history in order to meet with a radio jockey whose voice he has fallen in love with. She asks him to give a lecture and questions on Mahatma Gandhi, and as a result, he becomes a proponent of Gandhism and uses it to solve modern-life problems of the people.
On 25 February 2016, Sanjay Dutt was released from Yerwada Central Jail after completing his sentence (2013–2016) for illegal possession of firearms in 1993. Vidhu Vinod Chopra announced on 29 September 2016 that production on the third Munna Bhai film starring Dutt in the title role may begin in 2017.[5] In 2023, The Times of India reported that a third film "may never happen."[6]
| Actor | Film | |
|---|---|---|
| Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003) |
Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006) | |
| Sanjay Dutt | Murliprasad Sharma aka Munna Bhai | |
| Arshad Warsi | Sarkeshwar Sharma aka Circuit | |
| Boman Irani | Dr. J. C. Asthana | Lakhbir Singh aka Lucky |
| Sunil Dutt | Hariprasad Sharma | |
| Rohini Hattangadi | Parvati Sharma | |
| Gracy Singh | Dr. Suman Asthana | |
| Vidya Balan | Janvi Sahni | |
| Dilip Prabhavalkar | Mahatma Gandhi | |
| Dia Mirza | Simran Singh | |
| Jimmy Shergill | Zaheer Ali | Victor D'Souza |
| Film | Release date | Budget | Box office revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. | 19 December 2003 | ₹100 million (US$1.2 million)[7] | ₹346 million (US$4.1 million)[8] |
| Lage Raho Munna Bhai | 1 September 2006 | ₹120 million (US$1.4 million)[9] | ₹1.27 billion (US$15 million)[10] |
Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. was the recipient of a number of awards. At the 2004 Filmfare awards, it received the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie, the Filmfare Best Screenplay Award, the Filmfare Best Dialogue Award, and the Filmfare Best Comedian Award in addition to four other nominations. It won a number of awards at the 2004 Zee Cine Awards including Best Debuting Director, Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Comic Role, Best Cinematography, and Best Dialogue.
Other ceremonies include the 2004 National Film Awards, where it won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film, and the 2004 International Indian Film Academy Awards, where it won the IIFA Best Comedian Award.
Lage Raho Munna Bhai is the recipient of four National Film Awards in addition to other awards. Some speculated that it would represent India as an entry for the 2007 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.[11] Although ultimately losing to Rang De Basanti as India's official submission, the producers submitted it as an independent entry. However, neither film received an Oscar nomination.[12]
