Lage Raho Munna Bhai

<p>is a street-wise gangster, smitten by a , Jahnvi, who hosts a morning show. After his lackeys rig a contest, he gets to be interviewed on her show for , ‘s birthday. To impress Jahnvi, Munna poses as a college professor specializing in and claims he lives by Gandhi’s principles of and resistance. Jahnvi invites Munna to lecture the residents at her senior-citizen home, the “Second Innings House”. To prepare, Munna spends five days in a library reading about Gandhi. On the fifth day, he starts hallucinating visions of Gandhi, who also speaks to him. Munna’s sidekick, Circuit accompanies him to a psychiatrist but prevents the doctor from revealing to Munna that he is ill and mentally exhausted. Convinced Gandhi is actually there, Munna delivers a well-received lecture and impresses Janhvi. Lucky Singh, an unscrupulous businessman who employs Circuit and Munna to conduct ” ” activities for him, learns about Munna’s love for Janhvi and offers to help by funding a trip to for the Second Innings residents. During the trip, Munna tries to propose to Jahnvi; however, they discover the trip was a ruse for Lucky to occupy the house. It turns out that Lucky’s daughter, Simran, is engaged to Sunny, the son of Khurana, a powerful businessman. Khurana is superstitious and his activities are controlled by his , Batuk Maharaj. Maharaj’s particular use of led Khurana to add an extra “k” to his name and further convinced him to seize the “Second Innings House” as it would be the most auspicious place for the new couple to live. Furthermore, Batuk initially advised Khurana to not go through with the wedding since, unbeknownst to Simran, she is revealed to be a and would pass bad luck to Sunny. Lucky, not wanting to lose such an alliance, covers this up by saying that there was a mistake at the time of Simran’s birth, and hence the alliance progresses. With the authorities and lawyers not willing to confront Lucky, Munna comes up with a Gandhi-inspired approach. He co-hosts a radio show with Jahnvi where he solves ordinary listeners’ everyday problems with unorthodox interpretations of , only requesting that they send Lucky flowers to help him recover from the “disease of dishonesty” in exchange as a unique, non-violent protest. The show becomes successful, and pressure mounts on Lucky to return the home. Meanwhile, on Gandhi’s insistence, Munna writes a letter to Janhvi revealing the truth about him. Heartbroken, she leaves him and quits the radio show, but Munna continues his struggle against Lucky. However, he receives another setback when Lucky hosts a press conference to declare Munna mentally ill, supported by Munna’s psychiatrist. Convinced Gandhi was only in his imagination, Munna plans to leave the city with Circuit but instead decides to host one last radio segment to talk to Jahnvi, holding the studio hostage. Elsewhere, on Simran’s wedding day, she learns about her father’s deception of Khurana and runs away, ending up in a cab of a taxi driver, Victor D’Souza, who was helped by Munna in his radio show. Victor connects her to Munna, where she explains her dilemma. Munna convinces her to go back to the wedding and tell the truth. When Khurana rejects her, Munna and Circuit crash the wedding and confront Batuk. Sunny decides he wants to marry her nonetheless, but Munna and Circuit are arrested for causing a disturbance. At the police station, Jahnvi reconciles with Munna. Lucky, grateful, bails him out and returns the keys to Jahnvi’s house. Munna and Jahnvi eventually marry and continue hosting their radio show on Gandhism, affectionately called . A senior couple from the house adopt Circuit and his mannerisms; Victor achieves success and makes his father proud; Simran and Sunny, happily married, have a child; and Khurana fires Batuk and removes the extra “k” from his name, thus denouncing his belief in numerology. Meanwhile, a reformed Lucky sits in the same library in which Munna sat, reading about Gandhi, and Gandhi begins to appear to him too. The began after agreed to produce ‘s 2003 film when no one else would (Hirani had worked as an editor on Chopra’s 2000 film ). They also collaborated on the script. was a runaway success that prompted the duo to contemplate a sequel. The sequel was initially known as and was later titled before the title was finalized. In an interview, Hirani admitted that he felt the burden of expectation while writing the screenplay for , as he had to create “something to match” the first film. Initially, there was some effort to incorporate scenes or characteristics of the first film into the sequel (such as the idiosyncratic laugh of Asthana, portrayed by in the first installment), but the risks of repetition were consciously averted. One of Hirani’s goals in making the film was to revive an interest in , a figure who he felt had been forgotten in contemporary India. To highlight this fact, Hirani recounted (during an interview) an incident with a boy (who brings tea to the crew) during production: The other screenwriter, (who teaches in the department of English at in ), stated that he had been conducting extensive research on Gandhi, which inspired producer Chopra to involve Joshi in the creation of the second screenplay. While writing the screenplay, Hirani and Joshi stayed together for more than 4 months. They developed scenes by going out for a walk and discussing the scene. They would not return home until they had created a scene that would make them laugh, cry, or have some provocative thought. While there was a shortage of resources during the shooting of , the crew did not encounter a financial crisis during the filming of , as the team managed to receive whatever was deemed necessary (including a Jimmy Jib, a specific kind of camera crane, just for a single ). The film was shot on location in and around , with as a backdrop for the “Aane Char Aane” song. Only 2 characters—those of Munna Bhai (portrayed by Sanjay Dutt) and Circuit (portrayed by Arshad Warsi)—were retained from Several actors from , appeared in as different characters. Vidya Balan was chosen to play the leading lady Jahnavi as her voice was thought to be appropriate for that of a radio jockey. The actors used several techniques to develop their characters. Warsi encountered some initial problems reviving his character from the first film. Hirani recalled that on the first day of the shoot when Warsi said his first line, “he didn’t sound like Circuit at all. He sounded like Arshad Warsi speaking with an accent.” Warsi admitted that he had “forgotten” the character of Circuit and had to watch the DVD of 3 times before being able to film the scene correctly. Dutt also confessed that he had to watch the first film 8 to 9 times to recapture the “persona” of Munna Bhai. In addition, Dutt stated in an interview that he did not read Gandhi’s autobiography as a preparation for . Rather, he comments, his father, (who portrayed Munna Bhai’s father in ) and his mother (the late actress ) were his role models as they “were basically Gandhians. We were brought up with those values.” Dilip Prabhavalkar, who portrays Gandhi, read Gandhi’s works “once again” to prepare for his role. Boman Irani prepared for the role of Lucky Singh by spending time with Sardarjis (male ) in auto spare parts shops to research his role. Vidya Balan met with a couple of radio jockeys and watched them at work. Each film in the features Munna and Circuit in a story that is comprehensive unto itself and is not continued or referred to in another in the series. Director Hirani has compared this format to the films of and , as well as to the series. Others have also likened the series to the work of Laurel and Hardy. Some, however, have negated this comparison, stating that the series is more akin to the “buddy films” of and . Hirani stated that his work was deeply inspired by the films of . The interaction between the central characters of and highlights concepts and ideas that draw upon the period of and the . Gandhi was a leader in this movement, challenging the ‘s presence in India through the use of (non-violence). In the film, Jahnavi and Munna Bhai’s non-violent protest against Lucky Singh serves as a metaphor for the Indian independence movement and the battle against the . The thematic attention to Gandhi’s theories in revived an interest in in India under the new term and “made Gandhi suddenly hip” with Indians “staging non-violent protests, starting websites, handing out roses to enemies and putting on peaked white caps from the Gandhi era.” Arunabha Ghosh, in December 2006, noted in that, “Gandhi, the man, was once the message. In the India of the post- brand, Gandhigiri is the message.” of stated in September 2006 that: Mark Sappenfield of argued in 2006 that the film was appealing because, “Gandhi gets his hands dirty. He appears as an apparition only visible to the wayward gangster, counselling him on how to help others deal with everyday problems.” Swati Gauri Sharma suggested in that what the United States “needs is a film that encourages people to take up Gandhigiri, , or . If it worked for Bollywood, it could work for Hollywood.” After the release of the film, -style protests began to take place in India. In 2006, farmers staged a protest with flowers in the region, and people who organised a protest in claimed to have been inspired by to use roses to convey their message. In Lucknow, students claimed to have been inspired by to do volunteer work, planting trees “to conserve nature which is bound to benefit public health.” Babloo Srivastava claimed to have been inspired by to distribute roses as a “message of love and peace”. In 2008, Indian activists delivered thousands of roses to , chairman of , to reconsider his plans of building a port at the nesting grounds of sea turtles. The “Send a Valentine’s Day card” campaign in 2009 was inspired by the film. In the United States during July 2007, Aman Kapoor, founder of the forum, initiated a Gandhigiri protest inspired by Over a three-day period, hundreds of flower bouquets were sent to the (USCIS) office by Indians who were legally in the US but caught in a backlog. On 17 July, the USCIS reversed the decision that led to the protest. revived an interest in books about Gandhi. In particular, demand for Gandhi’s autobiography increased after the film debuted, including requests from prison inmates. In addition, due to its influence, the film was made tax-free in . Screened on 10 November 2006 in the United Nations auditorium, was the first film to be shown at the UN. The film was introduced by , UN for Communications and Public Information. of observed that, “there was a thunderous applause at the high points of the film, like the pensioner shedding his clothes. The applause at the end of the screening was unending. A vibrant Q&A session followed with director Rajkumar Hirani, writer Abhijat Joshi and actor Boman Irani, who flew to the U.S. for the screening.” The (IANS) noted that, “an evening that had started with massive security arrangements in the sombre UN setting, concluded in a festive atmosphere in the lounge of the UN with diplomats from other tables joining in raising a toast for the film.” The announced on 15 June 2007 that 2 October, the day of Gandhi’s birth ( ), was to be “the .” The , , was given a private screening of . After viewing the film, he stated that it “captures Bapu’s message about the power of truth and humanism.” In a speech during his visit to South Africa, Singh said, “I was heartened to see recently that back home in India the most popular movie this festival season is a film about a young man’s discovery of the universal and timeless relevance of the Mahatma’s message.” Singh announced the creation of a new Public Services Bill to combat corruption in a press release dated 17 November 2006, and cited as one of its influences. was further screened at a global judiciary summit in in December 2006. After viewing the film, Justice Kenneth Mithyane from South Africa commented, “The movie has re-enlivened the non-violence philosophy practiced by Mahatma Gandhi who continues to remain close to the hearts of the South Africans.” Fatima Chouhan, a young member of the South African parliament, noted that, ” will be widely appreciated in South Africa. I’m carrying a couple of video discs for my family and friends.” It was part of the section of the . was well received as the audience had lined “up in long queues to catch the film that had been strongly recommended in festival reviews […] not one person who entered the screening left before the end of the 2-hours-30-minutes film.” In addition, “the screening of the movie at the festival saw people sitting on the aisles as the theatre was completely packed […] there was also a big group of French students that clapped till the credits were finished.” Several universities held screenings. It was shown on 27 October 2006 at the . The screening was followed by a question and answer session with , , and . Filmmaker attended and spoke at the conclusion of the question-and-answer session. The film was screened at on 20 March 2007 (as a part of Old Dominion University and City of OnFilm Festival), the Lecture Series Committee on 23 & 24 March 2007, and on 3 April 2007 (as part of a series on ). The British DVD of contains a bonus DVD which has a 98-minute 5-part documentary on the making of the film, interviews with members of the cast and crew, and information on the creation of the song and dance numbers. It also has a special feature called ” Meets Bapu”. was released in December 2009. Published by Om Books International in association with Vinod Chopra Films, it was launched at an event with the original cast and crew. The text includes an introductory note by which details the drafting of the screenplay. It also includes a number of stills from the film as well as character profiles. The film is available on . received critical acclaim upon release. Subhash K. Jha said that “Munna and Circuit, arguably cinema’s most adorable and roguish reformists since go about the business of generating humour out of the pathos of the human condition. The sequences, all fiercely and famously path-breaking have us in splits […] Watch the lovelorn Munna Bhai answer a Gandhian quiz on a phone-in radio quiz with the help of kidnapped professors’ it’s one of the most comically animated sequences seen in the movies of the new millennium.” of gave the film 4 out 5 stars, describing it as “a sparkling example of qualitative cinema” arguing that it “not only entertains, it also enlightens.” of observes that “Vidhu Vinod Chopra gives the great Indian family one more let’s-go-goodwill-hunting entertainer, even as director Raju Hirani proves that sequels needn’t have the been there-done that feel…” of gave it 4 out of 5 stars and states: “Like those good old-fashioned Hrishikesh Mukherjee films, it also reinforces the importance of human goodness and basic niceties. Even if you might argue that some of Gandhi’s principles seem outdated today, you cannot help but cheer for Munna and his gang as they achieve the impossible with love and kindness. And that is where this film transcends conventional boundaries. It entertains you, yes, but it also makes you yearn for a perfect world. Judge it by any yardstick that you may, emerges a clear winner. Much of that credit must go to its actors who pull out all stops to make it an enjoyable ride.” Poonam Joshi of the gave 4 out of 5 stars stating that, “everything about this film works […] It’s rare to see a film that bounces between humour and sentiment so seamlessly. And it is rarer still to see characters become etched in the memory so enduringly that audiences become almost protective of them. It’s testimony both to the quality of the writing and the performances, that Munna and Circuit have taken on a life of their own.” Vinayak Chakravorty of gave 4 out of 5 stars stating that it “cleverly works its way around the obvious hurdle that almost all sequels face: The film recreates an original milieu without a hint of the déjà-vu downer. And that precisely ranks as one of the best entertainers this year.” He commended it for showing “the heights Hindi cinema can scale despite staying within its parameters. Lage raho, guys!” Phelim O’Neill of gave the film 4 out of 5 stars noting that, “as western romantic comedies become more vapid and even stalkerish, this delivers a credible message of peace, while never forgetting to be magnificent entertainment.” Shastri Ramachandaran of wrote, “True, there have been by distinguished directors, namely and ;one offering a respectful cinematic acquaintance and the other being didactic but inspiring. For all their earnestness, neither film stirred the popular imagination like LRM has done now.” Vaidyanathan from declared that, ” is not only as good as , but much better” calling it “a brilliant emotional roller coaster ride.” Jeremy Page of discussed its enormous popularity upon release and noted the “serious point [the film made] about the need for tolerance, restraint and self-sacrifice.” Other critics offered more negative reviews. Ajit Duara argues in that “the accomplished cultural sophistication and political genius of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi has to be dumbed down to the astoundingly moronic levels of ” Filmmaker was also critical, stating that “Gandhian philosophy is serious business and is not the right way to show it.” Jug Suraiya of wrote that “thanks to Munna Bhai, at best what exists of Gandhism is Gandhigiri, a watered-down, Dale Carnegie’s version of the original.” Filmmaker cited as a model film for him as it “had an issue, but it was never once in your face. kept it all so subtle and yet conveyed the message so well. It was as commercial as it gets and audiences too were thoroughly entertained. That’s the way to make movies because it not just made all parties happy but also had a satisfied director at the end of it all.” According to , Gandhi’s great-grandson, it introduced the philosophies of Gandhi to a new generation, adding that “Bapu would’ve spoken the language of Gandhigiri if he were alive today. I really feel this film says something that needs to be told.” was the fourth highest-grossing film of 2006, earning (US$15 million) gross in India alone and was rated a “blockbuster”. The film collected a further (US$5.9 million) during 2007 as the film enjoyed a tremendous golden jubilee run playing at a selected 210 cinemas until October of that year, being the only film to achieve this feat since (1995). It was also financially successful overseas, earning (US$830,000) gross in the United Kingdom, (US$1.3 million) gross in North America, and (US$590,000) gross for the rest of the overseas proceeds, for a total of (US$2.6 million). Its total worldwide lifetime gross is (US$23 million), the equivalent to just over US$40 million when adjusted for inflation 2016. is the recipient of 4 in addition to other awards. Some speculated that it would represent India as an entry for the . Although ultimately losing to as India’s official submission, the producers submitted it as an independent entry. However, neither film received an Oscar nomination. The music of was composed by and the lyrics were written by . Vocals for Dutt were supplied by and , and for Balan by . Swanand Kirkire won the in 2007 for the song “Bande Mein Tha Dum.” According to the Indian trade website , with around 1,000,000 units sold, this film’s soundtrack album was the year’s fourteenth highest-selling. The melody of the track “Pal Pal…. Har Pal” was sampled from and song ” ” The chorus in the song “Samjho Ho Hi Gaya” is copied from the song ” ” by . confirmed in late 2024 that he is working on screenplays for two sequels: III and II. has also confirmed that he is working on a future film.</p>