Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. Reviews

Munna Bhai M.B.B.S has two of the most iconic, most likable characters in Bollywood history who aren't, thank goodness for that, chocolate heroes or intimidating villains. If I were to mash the above two, I would say that Munna and Circuit are intimidating heroes and no, even I don't know why I wrote that. Not only do they make an effectively comedic duo, but the Arshad Warsi / Sanjay Dutt pairing is the greatest in recent Bollywood history, but second only to the Shahrukh Khan / Kajol pairing if thought for all time. It's a comedy film; and a Bollywood one at that, so expect quite many implausibility and loop-holes. But these things are only noticed by viewers with the intention to criticize the film, you know, the haters. But since only few of them ever actually make it through the film, it's safe to say the others (like the guy reviewing this film) oversee these little problems and focus on the funny.

The story is this that Munna is a gangster, although he prefers to call himself "social worker". His modus operandi is that he kidnaps people, asks for ransom, and then promptly lets them go. All done comically of course. To the world he is a gangster, but to his parents he is a doctor. You see, he lied to his parents that he is a doctor, which of course he is not, and whenever they come down to visit him, he and his group of hoodlums quickly convert their base into a makeshift hospital, with Munna assuming the role of the doctor and his gang members becoming patients or other doctors / nurses. The premise seems achingly painful and/or boring on paper, but believe me it is 10x times funnier than the most recent funniest film you've seen, unless that happens to be Groundhog Day or any of Mel Brooks films: man, those films are hard to beat!

Performance-wise, Sanjay Dutt as Munna totally steals the show. He has always been one of my favourite Bollywood actors ever since I saw him in Hum Kisi Say Kum Nahin. He is at home at playing corrupt figures, police officers, or otherwise tough characters. A sort of Vinnie Jones of Bollywood. Sanjay Dutt is one of the relatively few actors who can blur, or vanish, the fine line between actor and character. Other notable mentions are Daniel Day-Lewis, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman and Boman Irani, who appears in this film as the primary antagonist, Dr. J. Asthana. He is easily one of the finest actors of Bollywood, of this time and of all time. True, he ain't no Sanjeev Kumar, but since his characters have aggressive demeanors and large personalities, he doesn't need to be compared to other actors, since he marches to his own beat - or at least at times. He effectively transisted from normal to villain to normal again. Sunil Dutt, real life father of Sanjay, also provided a good enough screen presence. Arshad Warsi plays Circuit, the hero's sidekick and second icon. Comedy can be done by almost anyone but only a certain few can bring it to upper levels and actually make your sides ache with laughter. Paresh Rawal, Johnny Lever and Govinda exercise that in each and every of their films; Arshad Warsi does it in here, giving us moments that are worth rewinding.

In conclusion, if I were given a chance to recommend just few Bollywood films to someone, Munna Bhai M.B.B.S would certainly be one of them. It is a must watch!

8.0/10