I wanted to start the new saal on a upbeat note. And what could be more upbeat than the story of a hood who wants to do good? Un like some of the trash offered earlier in past year, this is an offering to be seen, the proverbial dark horse that pipped others to the winning post. :)
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Meet and Greet
Munna Bhai (Sanjay Dutt) aka Murli Prasad Sharma, son of a small-town do-gooder and his decidedly cheerful wife (Sunil Dutt and Rohini Hattangadi respectively). Came to Mumbai to fulfil dad’s dream of having a doctor-son. Became a good source of income for the doctors instead – he breaks bones, restructures faces and has a vast repertoire in the ‘collection business’. In short, he’s a ‘Bhai’ (a name for a hoodlum in Mumbai lingo) who pretends he’s a great doctor whenever Daddy’ O comes down for his annual visits.
Circuit (Arshad Warsi) aka Sarkeshwar. Right-hand man to Munna Bhai. Always stuck to a phone in his ear, wears a ton of gold akin to a certain obese musician in Bollywood. Loves to handle Munna Bhai’s problems, prefers to do it with a knife or fists.
Dr Asthana (Boman Irani) aka Dean Asthana – ‘J Dot Asthana’ as he introduces himself to a classful of first year medicos. Father to his daughter Suman, who also works in the same medical institution. A by-the-book person who’s absolutely stunned and angry that a hood like Munna is having the run of his hospital and gaining popularity while he’s at it.
Chinkie (Gracy Singh) aka Dr Suman, works in her father’s hospital. A sensible, simple girl without any hang-ups in life. She was childhood friends with Munna and now that she knows what he does for a living, is not too keen on marrying him or anyone else for that matter.
The Plot
Munna makes life easier for some people by retrieving their money from those they have loaned/lost it to, of course charging his retrieval fees. Rooting for him all the way is his loyal man Circuit who knows all about the bashing business. Every year, daddy dear Sharma Sr. comes to the city to see how his son is continuing with life as a good doctor. So come the annual farce, Munna has all his neighbouring washer-men-and-women don white coats, push in some 20 beds complete with dripping IVs and jerking patients, et al. So daddy dearest goes back home after a week or so, satisfied that his no-good son has succeeded in life.
However, this year daddy decides to drop in a little early. Daddy meets Dr Asthana (who’s laughing himself silly at laughter therapy – the angrier he is, the more he tries to ho-ho-ho it away). They reminisce over steaming cuppas of chai and decide to get their kids hitched to each other’s offspring. Enter trouble in paradise in the form of the bai who enlightens the doctor about his prospective son-in-law’s true profile. That does it for Asthana who starts howling like a hyena in pain and decides then and there to teach the hoodwinkers a lesson. To that end, he insults Munna’s mom and pop when they turn up with their proposal.
This gets Munna’s goat and he decides ‘Vat lagayega takle ka’. From then on starts a rollicking kaleidoscope of sequences designed to make you howl with laughter. Yes there are plenty of clichés – the dumb sidekick, the staid fuddy-duddy dean – but they add to the experience with the way they have been portrayed.
What I liked
IMHO, this movie is quite hatke from whatever is the usual Sanjay Dutt fare. The last time I saw him in a half-way decent flick was when Kaante made an appearance on the cable. I absolutely abhorred that horror called Jodi No 1 and even Khubsoorat was a damp squib with the perennially anaemic Ur-Ramu-mila Mato-Verma-ndkar. My favourite scenes:
Munna and Circuit forcing Dr Rustom to appear for the Entrance Exams while keeping the doctor’s old father entertained with Carom
Munna dashing himself against so many immovable objects to stay on in med school, not the least of which was dean Asthana
Munna’s and Circuit’s expressions on seeing what they mistakenly believe is a very modern Chinkie on the dance floor
Munna’s and Circuit’s midnight carom ruse to get Dr Rustom’s old father interested in life again (this is one of the most poignant scenes in the movie, sure as heck made me cry)
The cabaret at a dying man’s bedside (bittersweet)
A bashful Munna when he realises that Dr Suman and Chinkie are the same sweet lady
Munna’s sympathy and subsequent actions for the better of a supposedly brain-dead patient who’s been in the hospital for the past 12 years
The Actors
Sanjay Dutt romps his way through this role. Quite different from his Govinda days. After a very long time, I have actually seen an actor play his age. Munna is not sweet sixteen with acne and trying to get into college. He’s a thirty-ish hood who wants to get even with his tormentor. Bravura performance! Won’t be surprised to see him hold the Best Comic performance award for 2003.
Arshad Warsi has had it tough in Bollywood. His debut Tere Mere Sapne did wonders for Chandrachur who went on to do some offbeat cinema and got himself noticed while Arshad danced and pranced and was thought to be the successor to Govinda. Unfortunately, he wasn’t as lucky as Chandrachur, he was lost in filmdom and seemed content in his marriage to VJ Maria Goretti. He deserves an award for comic performance in this movie. I swear!
Boman Irani is a familiar face to students of advertising (moi, of course) and also to those who have seen him in Krack Jack, Smyle and Kotak Mahindra ads. He is a legend in English theatre and...let’s says, the man’s got what it takes. His portrayal of Asthana is brilliant - the harassed dean and concerned father.
Gracy Singh as her name says, was the element of Grace and elegance in the movie. Subtle performance, well done. None of the under-dressed, over-loud heroine bit here.
The other actors (whose names I don’t know) who deserve a mention:
The guy who played Dr Rustom Pavri
The guy who played Dr Pavri’s father, a cameo but a well done cameo (this person also appears in a Digjam Ad)
Last but not the least, Yatin Karyekar for his performance as the supposedly brain-dead Anand Banerjee.
Conclusion
While such an escapade might not be possible in real life, it does make you wonder whether its necessary to always project a serious demeanour in a serious profession. Munna is a caricature of the villain with a golden heart who is actually just trying to do good. But the movie contains a couple of serious nuggets for the medico fraternity, at least in our country, if not elsewhere. Munnas and Patch Adams’ are rare and as such are precious. I do believe ‘laughter is the best medicine’, inspite of Asthana’s laughter therapy sessions at the local park.