Munna Bhai MBBS Turns 21: Here's Why Rajkumar Hirani Was 'Scared Of Calling It Different'

On 19 Dec 2024 14:44:51

Like Robin Williams in Patch Adams, Sanjay Dutt in Munna Bhhai MBBS plays a good-hearted tapori, a local goon, who cures ailments.

Like Robin Williams in Patch Adams, Sanjay Dutt in Munna Bhhai MBBS plays a good-hearted tapori, a local goon, who cures ailments. He also makes you laugh, even cry. Munna takes up the challenge to become a real doctor. Fun begins when Munna is let loose upon unsuspecting medical students and doctors.

Raju Hirani’s directorial debut Mnna Bhhai MBBS, a bit of a landmark in Hindi cinema, was very clearly inspired by the 1998 Robin Williams rom-com Patch Adams. Both producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra and director Raju Hirani, who celebrates his birthday on the same day as the film’s release, denied it. But if we see the two films back-to-back the similarity is unquestionable.

Like Robin Williams in Patch Adams, Sanjay Dutt in Munna Bhhai MBBS plays a good-hearted tapori, a local goon, who cures ailments. He also makes you laugh, even cry. Munna takes up the challenge to become a real doctor. Fun begins when Munna is let loose upon unsuspecting medical students and doctors.In this throwback interview, Rajkumar Hirani spoke on Munna Bhhai MBBS just before it opened On December 19, 2003.

Is Munnabhai MBBS a comedy?

Depends on what you mean by comedy. It has a lot of humour in it. The title does suggest a lot of fun. But I chose it above any dil pyar sanam title. If you know what I mean (laughs). It’s a feelgood film. Munnabhai actually makes you cry with a smile on your lips. When audiences leave Munnabhai they should leave as better human beings. But yes the theme has been treated in a lighter vein.