I would love to be Munnabhai again -Sanjay Dutt

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Directed by Rajkumar Hirani, ‘Lage Raho Munna Bhai’, the film, not only regaled the audiences across the globe, but also made box-office history. Seldom have sequels generated interest to the extent the film continues to do.

Now the unforgettable characters and the witty dialogues of ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’ have come to life again in the form of a book that brings alive all the unforgettable characters, mostly witty and some hilarious dialogue as well. All that made ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’ an iconic film -to the extent that the word ‘Gandhigiri’ became a sort of catch phrase amongst the youth in India, and also the title of some recent serious studies is all documented in this book.

The riveting script of the blockbuster was launched as a book at a glittering ceremony at Crossword, Kemps Corner, Mumbai. Making the event memorable, the cast and crew of ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’ -Sanjay Dutt, Vidya Balan, Arshad Warsi, Boman Irani, producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra and director Rajkumar Hirani were all present.

We caught up with Sanjay Dutt, the lovable don who brought ‘Gandhigiri’ back into fashion, and got him talking…

How does it feel on sharing the stage with the ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’ team after such a long time?

I am very lucky that Vinod Chopra and Rajkumar Hirani chose me to play the character of Munnabhai. The film has changed my life, just as it has changed the life of many others. And that is why, I feel so happy that the script of the film is coming out as a book.

How did it feel reliving the moments of working with Vidhu Vinod Chopra?

Working with Vinod Chopra is always a pleasure. He is my well-wisher, my friend and he loves me as much as he rebukes me! I remember once he called just to fire me, because I was late on the sets. I remember I told him, ‘No-no, I am always on time’. But the truth was that I found it difficult to wake up early in the morning. So Vinod Chopra warned me the fine for irregular timings would be ‘cut from salary’.

And did he do that?

When the film got over, I got a call from him saying that he is deducting Rupees 60,00,000/- (Sixty Lakhs) from my salary. But the film went on to become a great hit and he paid me Rupees 1,00,00,000/- (One Crore) more! And now we are launching the film’s script in the form of a book. That is Vidhu Vinod Chopra for you.

What, according to you merits this book for a read?

The book is a very interesting read. For, it is something that we as a family have lived and will continue living. I am glad ‘Gandhigiri’ is a trend that youngsters seek to follow now. This film has been an eye-opener to not just the youth, but to me as a person as well. Naturally, any moment attached to the film is very close to my heart.

Tell us about your moments of fun too…

(Smiles) I have had my fun moments too. Like the time when you go to meet Vinod Chopra for a film, he makes you read the entire script.

What I do is, I go up to his room, smoke a few cigarettes, spend one and half-hours and tell him ‘brilliant script’, because it has to be that with him in the picture. And he knows I am just saying that without reading. So he makes his team give me a brief on the film!

Even today, he called me and told me to be there on time! I was 30 minutes early… And he came in 15 minutes late! There was also a time when Vinod Chopra called me and told me I have to be on the sets at 7am. I wanted to teach him a lesson. So I stayed awake all night and reported on the sets at 6 am. He got up at 7.15 and I went over and screamed a big ‘Hi’ to him from far. And he grinned and yelled back… ‘I know I know’, you are just being so smart because I am late today. I had a hearty laugh that day.

Actually, I love every moment of Munnabhai. And I would love to relive those moments over and over again.

-Sampurn Media