Review of Munna Bhai MBBS
At first
glance, Munna Bhai appears to represent the worst of Bollywood- a crass movie
about a gangster with a good heart. If
you came to this conclusion and did not see it, you are out of touch. Go rent it today. The rest of the review assumes that you have
seen the movie (spoiler alert).
Munna Bhai
is one of the most engaging and nuanced characters to come out of Bollywood in
recent memory. He is Robin Hood. He is a man with feelings. He is an honorable gangster who refuses to do
someone’s dirty work. He is a macho
daredevil who is beginning to find out the power of love. He is a part of you and you are a part of
him. He is a desi who gets family
values- he craves his father’s respect, his mother’s love and the love of his
lady. He is a low-class goonda
who learns the meaning of respect. He
cares. He is tough. He is strong.
He is a bully. He is a
lover. He understands friendship.
If you have
seen Patch Adams, you will
immediately notice the similarities.
Both Patch and Munna refuse to accept the dehumanization of medical care
in the modern bureaucratic hospital. The
way they react to it differs, of course.
Munna turns on his gangsta spirit to convince the hospital staff to get
more human. Patch, being a doctor, is
able to take matters into his own hands.
Both characters are disinterested in silly rules that come in the way of
actually helping people and find ways of helping patients who might need urgent
care but not have the resources to buy it.
Circuit
(Sirkeshwar) is one of the greatest sidekick characters in Indian cinema. Perhaps, Sambha was the only other
memorable sidekick in Bollywood history.
Generally speaking, sidekicks are one-dimensional buffoons who are
kicked around and do not add to the story line.
Circuit, on the other hand, becomes part of the fabric of the
story. The movie would be less engaging
had Circuit not been in it. What makes
this character work is that Munna takes Circuit seriously. What Circuit says matters to Munna and
influences him. The classic drinking
scenes are memorable and drive Munna’s decision-making.
Munna Bhai
also adds to the desi vocabulary.
Every time I watch the movie, I walk around saying things such as- “Too
bhi naa mamu hi, yaar”, “Ay Laa.
Mera to vaat lag
In the end,
Munna Bhai is about ijjat. Munna
had it all when he was a gangster- money, fame, cronies by the dozen. What he lacked was ijjat. The movie is about how this realization
changes him for the better and how ultimately, he really gets it all.
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