Customer Reviews

Mumma Bhai M.B.B.S.

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

 

 

What happened here? People weren't expecting much from this film but it somehow managed to be the movie that changed Sanjay Dutt's life yet again. This film is funny, uplifting and brings tears to the eyes too. Tell me one film that does all that? It touches your heart, breaks it, wins it and owns it. It was heartening to see Sunil Dutt act with his son. Boman Irani is superb as a bald professor. Gracy Singh is loveable. Easily one of the top 20 films I've seen in Bollywood.

My Rating - 9.4/10

Like most Bollywood products, watching this movie requires a large investment of your time (2 hrs 30 mins+). It's well worth it. There's wonderful character development here. As a result, we see and believe Sanjay Dutt's "Munna Bhai" as a hulking, swaggering 'brother gangster' who is also capable of great acts of passion and caring. Dispensing 'magic hugs' and fully engaging _everyone_ regardless of their station in life, Dutt's character sets out on a circuitous and indescribable path from gangster to doctor.

For Dutt, the gangster role here is a case of art imitating life (thank you, Harkanwar Anand, for your review which encouraged me to look up the details of Dutt's life...wow). He's got great support from some wonderful castmates. I loved Boman Irani's performance as Dr. J. C. Asthana. He's brilliant - alternatively stern and commanding, then broadly comedic. Whether it's the translation or not, he also delivers some great officious lines like delivering Dutt his "rustication letter." That sent me scrambling to the dictionary. Excellent.

Kudos also to Arshad Warsi for his portrayal of Munna Bhai's henchman 'Circuit.' Whether musically menacing shakedown victims with a switchblade or listening to Dutt unload his dreams and fears on the shore each night, his portrayal adds rich layers to Dutt's character.

Don't give up early on this movie - the first five minutes is very slapstick-y, but after that it settles into a very good groove. Your appreciation for it will grow as the movie goes on. At the end, my wife and I looked at each other and expressed the same thought: "Wow, what a _great_ movie!" It will touch you.

[NOTE: I see reports that Mira Nair has bought the US rights to Munna Bhai and is planning a release called 'Gangster M.D.' starring Chris Tucker. Those reports were in 2006 (Nair herself is quoted). IMDB shows an entry in Nair's bio under the Producer tag that the project is 'in production' for 2008, but posters there seem skeptical that this project is on track.]

If you're not very familiar with Hindi cinema, the Munna Bhai films should be at the top of your list, as they introduce everything that is great about "bollywood" movies. Sanjay Dutt, who plays Munna, is a huge star in India, and this role reinvigorated his career after some rough patches in his life. His father in the film is played by his own real-life father, Sunil Dutt. The fact that Sunil Dutt would pass away two years after the release of this film lends even more poignancy to the scenes between father and son.

Munna is a lovable gangster - despite his rough profession, his heart is always in the right place and he's surrounded by a community of friends and employees who love and depend on him. Sanjay Dutt fits the role as if it were written just for him. Arshad Warsi is perfect as Munna's ever-loyal sidekick. Boman Irani is a delightful and hilarious character actor (his appearance in the second Munna Bhai film is even more hilarious than in this one).

The music is lovely and never over-the-top, and the playback singer Vinod Rathod (who sings Munna's lines) is the ideal voice for Sanjay Dutt. The film isn't simply comedy; it also offers a social critique of both the education and health care system in India. It might remind American audiences of the movie "Patch Adams", except this one is much better.

There are some aspects which non-Indian audiences might find tricky. Some of the comedy is based on language - Munna and his friends speak a sort of low-brow slang - which can't come through in the subtitles very well. Also, the constant references to "bro" (the translation for "bhai", as in Munna Bhai) might seem odd to English speakers, but that's because we don't use the word "brother" in the same way that it's used in Hindi. There are certain catchphrases (like Munna and Circuit's repeated "no tension!") which might not be as funny if you don't pick up on them in the spoken dialogue.

i paid for a new DVD official licensed Munna Bhai MBBS. they sent me a pirated copy. poor images very scratchy. want refund. look out for this vendor.

The origins of this film are immediately recognisable as being close to those in Patch Adams - the Robin Williams comedy. To be honest, I think this film is a vast improvement on its source material.

Sanjay Dutt is at his charismatic best, and is often very funny. The musical numbers are also a great deal of fun, particularly Mumait Khan's star turn in a great item number.

Huge fun, and hugely touching - add this to your DVD collection as soon as you can.

This movie was terrific. The comedy caused rip-roaring laughter. Sanjay Dutt makes a comeback after his poor performance in Ek Aur Ek Gyarah. The emotional scenes are very poignant. The emotions and comedy have been integrated perfectly. The themes of the movie are very inspiring.

This is a movie about a baddie (Sanjay Dutt) whose parents think is a doctor in the city. But, his secret is out and the father (Sunil Dutt) is extremely upset.

The baddie decides to become a doctor, to win back his parents. And, thereby hangs a tale, which takes him from medical entrance exams to medical school to hospital internship.

The baddie cannot shrug off his earthy wisdom that science and medicines are not the only gospel to making patients happy and better. What about laughter? A challenge in a game of carrom brings back an old father from the brink of suicide fatigue. A terminal patient feels wondrous with a heartfelt hug. Death is inevitable, and so another dying patient is goaded to fulfill his last fantasies. The doctor should not look at the disease alone, he must not forget the human being with the disease.

Sanjay Dutt has given a stellar performance, and has proved that he is a versatile actor. Arshad Warsi's career took off after his great role as the baddie's sidekick. Boman Irani, the Head of the medical school sharpens the message of the whole story, with his confident acting and his Mr. Science attitude. He practices laughter therapy when he is angry and exasperated. Gracy Singh, the daughter of the Head, is competent.

Sunil Dutt's very screen presence can make the movie a `must see'. He is awesome.

This is a great story and well directed.

In real life, the message of the movie made many a medical specialist sit up and think. Articles appeared in medical journals. It became re-commendatory viewing in many a medical school. Need anything more be said?

This is a cult movie with a deliberate roughness, Mumbai style. A `must see' and a must for your collection!