Lage Raho Munnabhai
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''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' (;
translation Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...
: ''Keep Going, Munna Bhai'') is a
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
Indian
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
-language
satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...
comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...
drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
film written, edited and directed by
Rajkumar Hirani Rajkumar "Raju" Hirani (born 20 November 1962) is an Indian filmmaker known for his works in Hindi films. He is the recipient of several accolades, including four National Film Awards and 11 Filmfare Awards. Hirani is referred as one of the m ...
, who also co-wrote the screenplay with
Abhijat Joshi Abhijat Joshi (born 1 December 1969) is an Indian screenwriter, film director, producer and editor who works in Hindi cinema. He is known for collaboration with Vinod Chopra Productions and director Rajkumar Hirani, as the screenwriter for '' ...
, and produced by
Vidhu Vinod Chopra Vidhu Vinod Chopra (born 5 September 1952) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including four National Film Awards and eleven Filmfare Awards. He is known for directing films ...
under the banner Vinod Chopra Films. A sequel to '' Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.'' (2003), the film is the second installment of the ''Munna Bhai'' series.
Sanjay Dutt Sanjay Balraj Dutt (born 29 July 1959) is an Indian actor, playback singer and film producer who works in Hindi cinema in addition to a few Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Punjabi films. Dutt has won several accolades and acted in over 160 films. ...
and
Arshad Warsi Arshad Khan (born 19 April 1968) is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. He is the recipient of List of roles and awards of Arshad Warsi, several awards including a Filmfare Award from five nominations and is noted for acting in varied f ...
reprised their roles as the titular Munna Bhai and Circuit, respectively. New additions to the cast include
Vidya Balan Vidya Balan (pronounced ; born 1 January 1979) is an Indian actress. Known for pioneering a change in the portrayal of women in Hindi cinema with her roles in female-led films, she is the recipient of several awards, including a National Fil ...
,
Dilip Prabhavalkar Dilip Prabhavalkar (born 4 August 1944) is an Indian Marathi actor, director, playwright and author. He has a career spanning over five decades in Hindi and Marathi theatre, television and movies. He was awarded the National Film Award for Best ...
and
Dia Mirza Dia Mirza Rekhi (born Dia Handrich; 9 December 1981) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films. She won the title of Miss Asia Pacific International in 2000 after being crowned Femina Miss India Asia Pacific 2000. Mirza made her ...
, while several actors from the original, notably
Jimmy Sheirgill Jimmy Sheirgill (born Jasjit Singh Gill; 3 December 1970), also known as Jimmy Shergill, is an Indian actor and producer who primarily works in Hindi and Punjabi language, Punjabi films. Sheirgill began his film career with the 1996 thriller ...
and
Boman Irani Boman Irani (born 2 December 1959) is an Indian actor and comedian who works primarily in Hindi-language films. One of the most popular character actors in Hindi cinema, he has featured in over 100 films, and is the recipient of a Filmfare Awar ...
, appear in new roles. In this film, the eponymous lead character, a don in the
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...
, begins to see visions of
Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...
. Through his interactions with Gandhi, he begins to practice what he refers to as " Gandhigiri" (a
neologism In linguistics, a neologism (; also known as a coinage) is any newly formed word, term, or phrase that has achieved popular or institutional recognition and is becoming accepted into mainstream language. Most definitively, a word can be considered ...
for "
Gandhism Gandhism is a body of ideas that describes the inspiration, vision, and the life work of Mohandas K. Gandhi. It is particularly associated with his contributions to the idea of nonviolent resistance, sometimes also called civil resistance. The ...
") to help ordinary people solve their problems. Released worldwide on 1 September 2006, the film received widespread critical acclaim for its direction, story, screenplay, dialogues, performances of the cast, and its social message and themes, and proved to be a major
box office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicket. ...
success, grossing over 1.270
billion Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions: * 1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is now the most common sense of the word in all varieties of ...
(equivalent to ₹4.1 billion or
US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
51
million 1,000,000 (one million), or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian ''millione'' (''milione'' in modern Italian), from ''mille'', "thousand", plus the ...
in 2023) worldwide and became the third highest-grossing film of the year. At the
54th National Film Awards The 54th National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 2006. Three different committee ...
, ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' won 4 awards, including Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and Best Supporting Actor (
Dilip Prabhavalkar Dilip Prabhavalkar (born 4 August 1944) is an Indian Marathi actor, director, playwright and author. He has a career spanning over five decades in Hindi and Marathi theatre, television and movies. He was awarded the National Film Award for Best ...
). At the 52nd Filmfare Awards, the film received 12 nominations, including Best Film,
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * As ...
(Hirani) and Best Actor (Dutt), and won 4 awards, including Best Film (Critics) and Best Comedian (Warsi). ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' also had a number of prominent screenings. It was the first Hindi film to be shown at the United Nations, and was screened at the '' Tous Les Cinema du Monde'' section of the
2007 Cannes Film Festival The 60th Cannes Film Festival was held from 16 to 27 May 2007. British filmmaker Stephen Frears served as jury president for the main competition. Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu won the Palme d'Or for the drama film ''4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 ...
. The film popularized the term ''Gandhigiri''. Vidhu Vinod Chopra submitted the film as an independent entry for the 2007 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. It was later remade in Telugu by
Prabhu Deva Prabhu Deva (born 3 April 1973) is an Indian dance choreographer, film director, producer and actor who has worked predominantly in Tamil language, Tamil, Hindi and Telugu language, Telugu language films also appeared in few Kannada and Malayal ...
as '' Shankar Dada Zindabad'' (2007), with Prabhavalkar reprising his role as Gandhi.


Plot

Murliprasad Sharma, alias Munna Bhai is a street-wise gangster, smitten by a
radio jockey A radio personality is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host (North American English), radio presenter (British English) or radio jockey. Radio personal ...
, Jahnvi, who hosts a morning show. After his lackeys rig a contest, he gets to be interviewed on her show for
Gandhi Jayanti Gandhi Jayanti is a national holiday in India, celebrated annually on 2 October to honour the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, one of the key leaders of the Indian independence movement and a pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of nonviolence. It ...
,
Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...
's birthday. To impress Jahnvi, Munna poses as a college professor specializing in
Gandhism Gandhism is a body of ideas that describes the inspiration, vision, and the life work of Mohandas K. Gandhi. It is particularly associated with his contributions to the idea of nonviolent resistance, sometimes also called civil resistance. The ...
and claims he lives by Gandhi's principles of
truth Truth or verity is the Property (philosophy), property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth, 2005 In everyday language, it is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise cor ...
and
non-violent Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
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 "
underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...
" activities for him, learns about Munna's love for Janhvi and offers to help by funding a trip to
Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
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
astrologer Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...
, Batuk Maharaj. Maharaj's particular use of
numerology Numerology (known before the 20th century as arithmancy) is the belief in an occult, divine or mystical relationship between a number and one or more coinciding events. It is also the study of the numerical value, via an alphanumeric system, ...
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 manglik 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 Gandhi principles, 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, 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 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 ''Gandhigiri''. 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.


Cast


Production

The ''Munna Bhai'' series began after
Vidhu Vinod Chopra Vidhu Vinod Chopra (born 5 September 1952) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including four National Film Awards and eleven Filmfare Awards. He is known for directing films ...
agreed to produce
Rajkumar Hirani Rajkumar "Raju" Hirani (born 20 November 1962) is an Indian filmmaker known for his works in Hindi films. He is the recipient of several accolades, including four National Film Awards and 11 Filmfare Awards. Hirani is referred as one of the m ...
's 2003 film '' Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.'' when no one else would (Hirani had worked as an editor on Chopra's 2000 film ''
Mission Kashmir ''Mission Kashmir'' is a 2000 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The film stars Sanjay Dutt, Hrithik Roshan, Jackie Shroff, Preity Zinta, and Sonali Kulkarni. Set against the backdrop of ...
''). They also collaborated on the script. ''Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.'' was a runaway success that prompted the duo to contemplate a sequel. The sequel was initially known as ''Munna Bhai Meets Mahatma Gandhi'' and was later titled ''Munna Bhai: 2nd Innings'' before the title ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' was finalized. In an interview, Hirani admitted that he felt the burden of expectation while writing the screenplay for ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'', 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
Boman Irani Boman Irani (born 2 December 1959) is an Indian actor and comedian who works primarily in Hindi-language films. One of the most popular character actors in Hindi cinema, he has featured in over 100 films, and is the recipient of a Filmfare Awar ...
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
Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...
, a figure who he felt had been forgotten in contemporary India. To highlight this fact, Hirani recounted (during an interview) an incident with a '' chaiwala'' boy (who brings tea to the crew) during production: :The boy was curious, he was a big Munna Bhai fan and kept asking for the name of the film. The first working title was ''Munna Bhai Meets Mahatma Gandhi'' and Shantanu (Moitra, the music director) told him. So he said, 'Munna Bhai to theek hai, yeh Mahatma Gandhi Kaun hai?' ('Munna Bhai is fine, but who is this Mahatma Gandhi?') So this is the sad state of affairs today. I was shocked. And it's not just the chai-wallah. A few days ago on TV a lot of politicians were asked India-related questions on the news channels, and I can't believe a lot of them don't know 2 October is Gandhiji's birthday! Many didn't know his first name. They kept saying, 'what's in a name, we respect his ideals,' but come on! How can you not know his name? The other screenwriter,
Abhijat Joshi Abhijat Joshi (born 1 December 1969) is an Indian screenwriter, film director, producer and editor who works in Hindi cinema. He is known for collaboration with Vinod Chopra Productions and director Rajkumar Hirani, as the screenwriter for '' ...
(who teaches in the department of English at
Otterbein College Otterbein University is a private university in Westerville, Ohio, United States. The university was founded in 1847 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ and named for United Brethren founder, Philip William Otterbein. It has been as ...
in
Westerville, Ohio Westerville is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin and Delaware County, Ohio, Delaware counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. A northeastern suburb of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus as well as the home of Otterbein University, the population was 39 ...
), stated that he had been conducting extensive research on Gandhi, which inspired producer Chopra to involve Joshi in the creation of the second ''Munna Bhai'' 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 ''Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.'', the crew did not encounter a financial crisis during the filming of ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'', as the team managed to receive whatever was deemed necessary (including a Jimmy Jib, a specific kind of camera crane, just for a single
crane shot In filmmaking and video production, a crane shot is a shot taken by a camera on a moving crane or jib. Filmmaker D. W. Griffith created the first crane for his 1916 epic film ''Intolerance'', with famed special effects pioneer Eiji Tsuburaya ...
). The film was shot on location in and around
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
, with
Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
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 ''Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.'' Several actors from ''Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.'', appeared in ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' 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 ''Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.'' 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 ''
The Story of My Experiments with Truth ''The Story of My Experiments with Truth'' (, , ) is the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi, covering his life from early childhood through to 1921. It was written in weekly installments and published in his journal ''Navjivan'' from 1925 to 1929 ...
'' as a preparation for ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai''. Rather, he comments, his father,
Sunil Dutt Sunil Dutt (born Balraj Raghunath Dutt; 6 June 1929 – 25 May 2005) was an Indian actor, film producer, director, and politician known for his work in Hindi Cinema. He acted in more than 80 films over a career spanning five decades and was t ...
(who portrayed Munna Bhai's father in ''Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.'') and his mother (the late actress
Nargis Nargis Dutt (born Fatima Rashid, also known as Nirmala Dutt; 1 June 1929 – 3 May 1981) known mononyomusly as Nargis was an Indian actress and politician who worked in Hindi cinema. Regarded as one of the greatest and finest actresses in the ...
) 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
Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...
s) in auto spare parts shops to research his role. Vidya Balan met with a couple of radio jockeys and watched them at work.


Themes and impact


Influences and allusions

Each film in the ''Munna Bhai series'' 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
Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...
and
Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...
, as well as to the
James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
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 '' Road to...'' "buddy films" of
Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...
and
Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...
. Hirani stated that his work was deeply inspired by the films of
Hrishikesh Mukherjee Hrishikesh Mukherjee (30 September 1922 – 27 August 2006) was an Indian film director, editor and writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of Indian cinema. Popularly known as ''Hrishi-da'', he directed 42 films during his car ...
.


Social influence

The interaction between the central characters of
Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...
and Munna Bhai highlights concepts and ideas that draw upon the period of
Colonial India Colonial India was the part of the Indian subcontinent that was occupied by European colonial powers during and after the Age of Discovery. European power was exerted both by conquest and trade, especially in spice trade, spices. The search for ...
and the
Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...
. Gandhi was a leader in this movement, challenging the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
's presence in India through the use of ''
Satyagraha Satyāgraha (from ; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone who practises satyagraha is ...
'' (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
British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...
. The thematic attention to Gandhi's theories in ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' revived an interest in ''
Gandhism Gandhism is a body of ideas that describes the inspiration, vision, and the life work of Mohandas K. Gandhi. It is particularly associated with his contributions to the idea of nonviolent resistance, sometimes also called civil resistance. The ...
'' in India under the new term '' Gandhigiri'' 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 ''The Economic and Political Weekly'' that, "Gandhi, the man, was once the message. In the India of the post-
liberalization Liberalization or liberalisation (British English) is a broad term that refers to the practice of making laws, systems, or opinions less severe, usually in the sense of eliminating certain government regulations or restrictions. The term is used ...
brand, Gandhigiri is the message."
Amelia Gentleman Amelia Sophie Gentleman (born 1972) is a British journalist. She is a reporter for ''The Guardian'', and won the Paul Foot Award in 2018 for reporting the Windrush scandal. Early life and education Born in London in 1972, Gentleman is the da ...
of ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' stated in September 2006 that: :"The real excitement was a
Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...
film ..which ecamethe unexpected box-office hit of the year ..With its big Bollywood soundtrack and dance routines, the movie brings Gandhi firmly into the mainstream and theatres have been packed for the past 3 weeks. The Congress Party recommended that all party members see the film. The Delhi authorities declared that tickets to the film would be sold tax free because of its assiduous promotion of Gandhian values." Mark Sappenfield of ''
The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in Electronic publishing, electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 ...
'' 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 ''The
Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' that what the United States "needs is a film that encourages people to take up Gandhigiri, Kinggiri, or Kennedygiri. If it worked for Bollywood, it could work for Hollywood."


Gandhigiri-style protests

After the release of the film, Gandhigiri-style protests began to take place in India. In 2006, farmers staged a protest with flowers in the
Vidarbha Vidarbha (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, id̪əɾbʱə is a geographical region in the west Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Forming the eastern part of the state, it comprises Amravati Division, Amrav ...
region, and people who organised a protest in
Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...
claimed to have been inspired by ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' to use roses to convey their message. In Lucknow, students claimed to have been inspired by ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' to do volunteer work, planting trees "to conserve nature which is bound to benefit public health." Mafia don Babloo Srivastava claimed to have been inspired by ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' to distribute roses as a "message of love and peace". In 2008, Indian
Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...
activists delivered thousands of roses to
Ratan Tata Ratan Naval Tata (28 December 1937 9 October 2024) was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist. He served as the chairman of Tata Group and Tata Sons from 1991 to 2012 and he held the position of interim chairman from October 2016 to Feb ...
, chairman of
Tata Motors Tata Motors Limited is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive company, headquartered in Mumbai and part of the Tata Group. The company produces passenger cars, cars, trucks, vans, and busses, buses. T ...
, to reconsider his plans of building a port at the nesting grounds of
olive ridley The olive ridley sea turtle (''Lepidochelys olivacea''), also known commonly as the Pacific ridley sea turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Cheloniidae. The species is the second-smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in t ...
sea turtles. The "Send Pramod Muthalik 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'' Immigration Voice'' forum, initiated a Gandhigiri protest inspired by ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai.'' Over a three-day period, hundreds of flower bouquets were sent to the
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that administers the country's naturalization and Immigration to the United States, immigration system. History ...
(USCIS) office by Indians who were legally in the US but caught in a
green card A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...
backlog. On 17 July, the USCIS reversed the decision that led to the protest.


Impact

''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' revived an interest in books about Gandhi. In particular, demand for Gandhi's autobiography '' My Experiments with Truth'' increased after the film debuted, including requests from prison inmates. In addition, due to its influence, the film was made tax-free in
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
.


Release


Screenings

Screened on 10 November 2006 in the United Nations auditorium, ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' was the first
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
film to be shown at the UN. The film was introduced by
Shashi Tharoor Shashi Tharoor (; born 9 March 1956) is an Indian politician, author, and former diplomat, who has been serving as Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, since 2009. He is currently the Chairman of Committee on External Affairs. ...
, UN Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information.
Taran Adarsh Taran Adarsh (born 13 June 1965) is an Indian film critic and trade analyst. He is best known for giving trade figures and box office updates on social media, as well as his reviews for Bollywood Hungama. Career Taran Adarsh started his journ ...
of ''
Bollywood Hungama Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is an Indian entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000. The website provides n ...
'' 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 ''
Indo-Asian News Service Indo-Asian News Service or IANS is a private Indian news agency. It was founded in 1986 by Indian American publisher Gopal Raju as the "India Abroad News Service" and later renamed. In December 2023, Adani group, known for its close ties with t ...
'' (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
United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...
announced on 15 June 2007 that 2 October, the day of Gandhi's birth (
Gandhi Jayanti Gandhi Jayanti is a national holiday in India, celebrated annually on 2 October to honour the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, one of the key leaders of the Indian independence movement and a pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of nonviolence. It ...
), was to be "the International Day of Non-Violence." The
Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...
,
Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (26 September 1932 – 26 December 2024) was an Indian economist, bureaucrat, academician, and statesman, who served as the prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He was the fourth longest-serving prime minister after Jaw ...
, was given a private screening of ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai''. 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 ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' as one of its influences. ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' was further screened at a global judiciary summit in
Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...
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, "''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' 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 '' Tous Les Cinema du Monde'' section of the
2007 Cannes Film Festival The 60th Cannes Film Festival was held from 16 to 27 May 2007. British filmmaker Stephen Frears served as jury president for the main competition. Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu won the Palme d'Or for the drama film ''4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 ...
. ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' 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
University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts The USC School of Cinematic Arts is an academic unit of the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles. With a history that dates to the first years of talkies, the school descends from America's first program to confer a college degree in ...
. The screening was followed by a question and answer session with
Vidhu Vinod Chopra Vidhu Vinod Chopra (born 5 September 1952) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including four National Film Awards and eleven Filmfare Awards. He is known for directing films ...
,
Rajkumar Hirani Rajkumar "Raju" Hirani (born 20 November 1962) is an Indian filmmaker known for his works in Hindi films. He is the recipient of several accolades, including four National Film Awards and 11 Filmfare Awards. Hirani is referred as one of the m ...
, and
Abhijat Joshi Abhijat Joshi (born 1 December 1969) is an Indian screenwriter, film director, producer and editor who works in Hindi cinema. He is known for collaboration with Vinod Chopra Productions and director Rajkumar Hirani, as the screenwriter for '' ...
. Filmmaker
Gurinder Chadha Gurinder Kaur Chadha, (born 10 January 1960) is a Kenyan-born British film director of Indian origin. Most of her films explore the lives of Indians living in England. The common theme in her work showcases the trials of Indian women residing ...
attended and spoke at the conclusion of the question-and-answer session. The film was screened at
Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (ODU) is a Public university, public research university in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. Established in 1930 as the two-year Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary, it began by educating people with fewer ...
on 20 March 2007 (as a part of Old Dominion University and City of
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
OnFilm Festival), the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...
Lecture Series Committee on 23 & 24 March 2007, and
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...
on 3 April 2007 (as part of a series on
nonviolence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
).


Home media and screenplay

The British DVD of ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' 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 " Munna Meets Bapu". ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai – The Original Screenplay'' 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
Abhijat Joshi Abhijat Joshi (born 1 December 1969) is an Indian screenwriter, film director, producer and editor who works in Hindi cinema. He is known for collaboration with Vinod Chopra Productions and director Rajkumar Hirani, as the screenwriter for '' ...
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
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
.


Reception


Critical response

''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' received critical acclaim upon release. Subhash K. Jha said that "Munna and Circuit, arguably cinema's most adorable and roguish reformists since
Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...
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."
Taran Adarsh Taran Adarsh (born 13 June 1965) is an Indian film critic and trade analyst. He is best known for giving trade figures and box office updates on social media, as well as his reviews for Bollywood Hungama. Career Taran Adarsh started his journ ...
of ''
Bollywood Hungama Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is an Indian entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000. The website provides n ...
'' 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."
Nikhat Kazmi Nikhat Kazmi (1958/59 – 20 January 2012) was a senior correspondent and well-known film critic from, born Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, who had been writing for ''The Times of India'' since 1987. She died of breast cancer Breast cancer is a c ...
of ''
The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
'' 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..."
Rajeev Masand Rajeev Masand (born 13 March 1976) is an Indian film critic and journalist. He has worked for Noida based English language news channel CNN-Indian Broadcasting Network (CNN-IBN). He usually reviews Bollywood films and major Hollywood films rel ...
of ''
CNN-IBN CNN News18 is an Indian English-language news television channel founded by Raghav Bahl based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is currently co-owned by Network18 Group and Warner Bros. Discovery. CNN provides international coverage for the c ...
'' 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, ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' 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 ''
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
'' 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 ''
The Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media Limited, an entity controlled by the Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia, the daughter of K. K. Birla. ...
'' 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 ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' as one of the best entertainers this year." He commended it for showing "the heights Hindi cinema can scale despite staying within its masala parameters. Lage raho, guys!" Phelim O'Neill of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' 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 ''
The Tribune ''The Tribune'' or ''Tribune'' is the name of various newspapers: United States Daily California *''Oakland Tribune'' * ''The Tribune'' (San Luis Obispo) * ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' *''San Gabriel Valley Tribune'' Indiana *''Kokomo Tribune' ...
'' wrote, "True, there have been memorable films on Mahatma Gandhi by distinguished directors, namely
Richard Attenborough Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, film director, and Film producer, producer. Attenborough was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Acade ...
and
Shyam Benegal Shyam Benegal (14 December 1934 – 23 December 2024) was an Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as the pioneer of parallel cinema, he is widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. H ...
;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
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
declared that, "''Lage Raho'' is not only as good as
MBBS A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...
, but much better" calling it "a brilliant emotional roller coaster ride." Jeremy Page of ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' discussed its enormous popularity upon release and noted the "serious point he film madeabout the need for tolerance, restraint and self-sacrifice." Other critics offered more negative reviews. Ajit Duara argues in ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...
'' that "the accomplished cultural sophistication and political genius of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi has to be dumbed down to the astoundingly moronic levels of ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai.''" Filmmaker
Jahnu Barua Jahnu Barua (born 1952) is an Indian film director. He has written and directed a number of Assamese language, Assamese and Hindi films. Some of his notable films are ''Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai'' (1987), ''Firingoti'' (1992), ''Xagoroloi B ...
was also critical, stating that "Gandhian philosophy is serious business and ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' is not the right way to show it." Jug Suraiya of ''
The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
'' wrote that "thanks to Munna Bhai, at best what exists of Gandhism is Gandhigiri, a watered-down, Dale Carnegie's ''How to Win Friends and Influence People'' version of the original."


Other response

Filmmaker Kabir Khan cited ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' as a model film for him as it "had an issue, but it was never once in your face.
Rajkumar Hirani Rajkumar "Raju" Hirani (born 20 November 1962) is an Indian filmmaker known for his works in Hindi films. He is the recipient of several accolades, including four National Film Awards and 11 Filmfare Awards. Hirani is referred as one of the m ...
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
Tushar Gandhi Tushar Arun Gandhi (born 17 January 1960) is an Indian author and son of Arun Manilal Gandhi, thus great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. In March 2005, he led the 75th anniversary re-enactment of the Dandi March. Early life Tushar Arun Gandhi was b ...
, 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."


Box office

''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' was the fourth highest-grossing
Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...
film of 2006, earning gross in India alone and was rated a "blockbuster". The film collected a further 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 ''
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge ''Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge'' (), also known by the initialism ''DDLJ'', is a 1995 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film written and directed by Aditya Chopra in his directorial debut and produced by his father Yash Chopra. The film st ...
'' (1995). It was also financially successful overseas, earning gross in the United Kingdom, gross in North America, and gross for the rest of the overseas proceeds, for a total of . Its total worldwide lifetime gross is , the equivalent to just over US$40 million when adjusted for inflation 2016.


Accolades

''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' is the recipient of 4
National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...
in addition to other awards. Some speculated that it would represent India as an entry for the 2007 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. Although ultimately losing to ''
Rang De Basanti ''Rang De Basanti'' () is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language epic coming-of-age socio-political drama film written, produced, and directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. The film stars an ensemble cast including Aamir Khan, Siddharth (in his Hindi d ...
'' as India's official submission, the producers submitted it as an independent entry. However, neither film received an Oscar nomination.


Soundtrack

The music of ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' was composed by
Shantanu Moitra Shantanu Moitra (born 22 January 1968) is an Indian pianist, score composer and musician who has composed songs for the Hindi film industry, and is most known for his scores in the films ''Parineeta (2005 film), Parineeta'' (2005), ''Hazaaron K ...
and the lyrics were written by
Swanand Kirkire Swanand Kirkire (born 29 April 1972) is an Indian lyricist, playback singer, writer, assistant director, actor and dialogue writer, who works in Marathi and Hindi film and television. Kirkire won the National Film Award for Best Lyrics twice: f ...
. Vocals for Dutt were supplied by
Vinod Rathod Vinod Rathod (born 12 September 1962) is an Indian playback singer and dubbing voice actor who primarily sings in Hindi language films. Rathod is the son of late classical musician, Pandit Chaturbhuj Rathod. Music career His career started w ...
and
Sonu Nigam Sonu Nigam (born 30 July 1973) is an Indian playback singer, music director, dubbing artist and actor. He is one of the most versatile singers and widest vocal ranges in the history of Indian music. His songs vary from romantic to break-up, cla ...
, and for Balan by
Shreya Ghoshal Shreya Ghoshal (; born 12 March 1984) is an Indian singer. Noted for her wide vocal range and versatility, she is one of the most prolific and influential singers of India. Often referred to as the "Queen of Dynamics'' for her remarkable voc ...
. Swanand Kirkire won the
National Film Award for Best Lyrics The National Film Award for Best Lyrics is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards by the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) to a lyricist who has composed the best song for films produced within the Indian c ...
in 2007 for the song "Bande Mein Tha Dum." According to the Indian trade website ''
Box Office India Box Office India is an Indian film website dedicated to tracking, reporting, and analyzing the financial performance of films released in the Hindi entertainment industry. Established in 2003, Box Office India has become a prominent source of ...
'', with around 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
Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...
and
The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the bac ...
song " Theme for a Dream" The chorus in the song "Samjho ho hi gaya" is copied from the song "
Cast your fate to the wind "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" is an American jazz instrumental selection by Vince Guaraldi; later, a lyric was written by Carel Werber. It won a Grammy Award for Best Original Jazz Composition in 1963. It was included on the album '' Jazz Impres ...
" by
Vince Guaraldi Vincent Anthony Guaraldi (; birth name, né Dellaglio, July 17, 1928 – February 6, 1976) was an American jazz pianist best known for composing music for animated television adaptations of the ''Peanuts'' comic strip. His compositions for this s ...
.


Sequel

Vidhu Vinod Chopra Vidhu Vinod Chopra (born 5 September 1952) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including four National Film Awards and eleven Filmfare Awards. He is known for directing films ...
confirmed in late 2024 that he is working on screenplays for two sequels: ''Munna Bhai'' III and ''
3 Idiots ''3 Idiots'' is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, edited and directed by Rajkumar Hirani, co-written by Abhijat Joshi and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The film stars Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan and Shar ...
'' II.
Rajkumar Hirani Rajkumar "Raju" Hirani (born 20 November 1962) is an Indian filmmaker known for his works in Hindi films. He is the recipient of several accolades, including four National Film Awards and 11 Filmfare Awards. Hirani is referred as one of the m ...
has also confirmed that he is working on a future ''Munna Bhai'' film.


See also

* List of artistic depictions of Mahatma Gandhi


Notes


References


Further reading

*
Attenborough responsible for 'Lage Raho Munnabhai': Rajkumar Hirani
" ''
Daily News and Analysis The ''Daily News and Analysis'', abbreviated as ''DNA'', is a Hindi-language news program on Zee news that was earlier an English-language newspaper with multiple local city editions across India. ''DNA'' was first launched as a broadsheet newsp ...
'', 21 November 2014. * Chaturvedi, Anshul.
College, masti & Gandhigiri
" ''
The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
''. 2 October 2008. * Ghosh, Sohini (October 2006).
Ways of seeing:Rang De Basanti, Lage Raho Munna Bhai. Evoking idealism or validating violence?
''Communalism Combat'' 119 *
WBUR-FM WBUR-FM (90.9 FM) is a public radio station located in Boston, Massachusetts, owned by Boston University. Its programming is also known as WBUR News. The station is the largest of three NPR member stations in Boston, along with WGBH and W ...
,
Singing The Praises Of Bollywood Films
," 25 February 2009 (transcript and audio). * Yelaja, Prithi.

" ''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...
'', 2 October 2007.


External links

* * {{Navboxes , title = Awards for ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' , list = {{National Film Award Wholesome Entertainment {{FilmfareCriticsAwardBestMovie {{ScreenAwardBestFilm 2006 films 2006 comedy-drama films Films set in Mumbai 2000s Hindi-language films Cultural depictions of Mahatma Gandhi Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor National Film Award–winning performance Films shot in Mumbai Hindi films remade in other languages Indian comedy-drama films Films scored by Shantanu Moitra Indian sequel films Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment National Film Award winners Films whose writer won the Best Original Screenplay National Film Award Films directed by Rajkumar Hirani Indian gangster films Films about radio people