Review of Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006) by Familiar S — 04 Aug 2010

Like lots of people, I was hardly excited for this one. I saw it as a manipulative way of cashing in on the grand success of 'Munnabhai M.B.B.S.' And it apparently was. But still, it can't undo the fact that it's an incredibly entertaining movie.

Plot-wise, there's hardly any connection between Munnabhai M.B.B.S. & this one. One need not necessarily watch Munnabhai M.B.B.S. before going for this as it's not a sequel in real sense. The story doesn't pick up from where the last one ended. Only the main characters (Munnabhai & Circuit) are repeated here. A few other actors (like Boman Irani, Jimmy Shergill, etc.) from Munnabhai M.B.B.S. are also present, but they're cast in different roles/characters here.

The movie takes a whole new approach on how Mahatma Gandhi's thoughts can be successfully applied to solve real life problems (okay, some of the solutions portrayed here might not be genuinely rational) even today. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer him the other side. It might not work outright, but it will gradually result in your opponent's change of heart. Bollocks, right? But how shall we know if we'd never give it a try? Hell, I don't think I would. (And that's a pity.) It won't work with the extremely violent ones, but would we even risk it with the less violent ones? Same here :P.

It's interesting to note what Einstein had to say in this context: "Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth." (In this quote, 'this' refers to Mahatma Gandhi.).

So, it's a larger than life concept & there are many plot holes. But it's very, very entertaining & surely worth a watch.

SPOILER AHEAD:

I'd have given it 5/5 if I could get over: Why don't they simply take the offer? Isn't 1 bungalow, 1 flat, 1 car, etc. a deal good enough in exchange of one house? Isn't accepting this deal a non-violent/peaceful solution? After all, the party on the other end has 700 crores at stake. At least, take that into consideration & strike a deal.

Maybe I missed the point. But no one has provided me a sufficient explanation to it as yet. While I was successfully able to ignore the other minor plot holes, I couldn't overlook this specific irrational part of the story.