Customer Reviews

Lage Raho Munna Bhai (English subtitled)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Hmm, A romantic Comedy about a gangster while trying to impress a girl, poses as professor and he sees the spirit of Gandhi, and uses Gandhian principles to help her win her house back? Only Bollywood and more specifically V. V. Chopra can pull this off and he does!
This is an absolutely delightful film. For those not familiar bollywood - if you liked golden age hollywood and find something 'missing' in todays american films you'll find it here!
In addition the comic dual of Dutt and Warsi's chemistry is great...DOn't miss it

The first time I saw a preview for this movie, I thought it was going to be truly retarded! But I have to say that after watching it, I would recommended it to anyone who's up for a decent movie and wants to kill time. It's not great and it's not a "must see", but it is funny and has an interesting message which it delivers through a mystical "Gandhi" figure in the movie. It's an uplifting type of film, so no drama, violence, or sadness.

WOw! Long... and I enjoyed every minute. Will not change your life, though it does have a few Ghandisms interjected. I have watched and will watch again with friends. If you like Bollywood films, this will not dissappoint you!
-Joe

The dynamic duo are back, Munnabhai, the lovable gangster with his sidekick Circuit (Arshad Warsi), this time Munnabhai (Sanjay Dutt) is in love with a radio Jockey played by the gorgeous, Vidya Balan. She lives in an old home in Mumbai with her father and his friends who are old and retired, and have been 'unwanted' by their relatives to this retirement home called 'The Second Innings Home'.
As her father is a follower of Gandhian principles, Munnabhai becomes Professor Murli Prasad in order to impress them and also her in the process. He gets his inspiration after seeing the soul of Gandhi-ji advising him on important events and issues in life, when reading up on the life of Gandhi in a public library.
The villain in this story is Lucky Singh (Played by the unbelievably talented Boman Irani, in a fantastic performance), who is a real estate developer and employs Munnabhai and Circuit to 'evict' people from buildings and real estate properties that he wishes to usurp. The issue starts when Lucky Singh has to get a property that is being commited to his daughter's potential father-in-law as a 'dowry' and the house in question happens to be the "Second Innings Home". He manages to evict them through careful manipulation and they are left on the street .. literally.

The rest of the movie revolves around Munnabhai and his group achieving their end through , Gandhgiri (a world play on "goonda-giri", which means an anti-social element and a troublemaker), through non-violent and peaceful means to get their home back.

Normally, they say sequels have a difficult run to live upto. I found part one to be hilarious and this sequel is even better and rip roaringly funny. The key element is the direction and script that has been written so well without being cheesy and corny in its approach and without sounding too preachy.

This movie is in my collection and any day i am feeling down, i just play and its all laughter after that. The performances that shine in this movie notably is that of Boman Irani and as usual, the very funny Arshad Warsi.

--20 Stars!--

The Munna Bhai films are some of the best to come out of recent commercial Hindi cinema. "Lage Raho Munna Bhai" is the sequel to "Munna Bhai M.B.B.S" and in my opinion, it's even better than the first.

For non-Indian audiences, there's something you have to know about Hindi movie sequels. Unlike most American movie sequels, they contain the same actors and often the same characters, but they don't necessarily follow the events of the previous film. Thus, Munna and his sidekick Circuit are back, but it's as if the events of the previous film never occurred. The various supporting actors from "M.B.B.S" are also back, but they play different characters. The fun in this type of sequel is waiting to see when each actor from the previous movie will show up in this one, and what kind of role they'll be playing.

Here's what makes this "Munna Bhai" even better than the first one: the relationship between Munna and Circuit is more developed, becoming a more central part of the story (and really tugging on your heart strings). The music is better, and so is the dancing - the choreography of the opening number is delightful, but the real musical highlight is "Samjho Ho Hi Gaya", which is one of the most creatively-filmed song sequences I've seen. Munna and Circuit will surely steal your heart in this one.

The supporting actors are also better featured in this sequel. Arshad Warsi shines as the loyal Circuit, and Boman Irani turns in a hilarious and, by the end, touching performance as Lucky Singh. The romance between Munna and his new love interest (played wonderfully by Vidya Balan) has more chemistry and is more believable than in the first movie. At first I wasn't sure how the "spirit of Ghandi" plot device would pan out, but if you let yourself give into it, it's delightful. Like the first Munna Bhai film, this one also provides social commentary, this time on non-violence and peaceful resistance.

I noted this in my review of the first Munna Bhai, and I'll mention it again here: some of the comedy can be lost on non-Hindi speakers because much of the comedy is in the contrast between the low-brow slang that Munna uses and the more proper Hindi of the girl he's trying to woo. However, it must be said that the movie's creators do a very good job with the English subtitles - they manage to convey the humor through the subtitles, even if it's not quite as funny as being able to understand it in Hindi.