Download Lage Raho Munna Bhai Songs

Lage Raho Munna Bhai was an Indian musicalcomedy film released in 2006. Directed by Rajkumar Hirani and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, it was the second film in the popular Munna Bhai series of Bollywood. Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi reprised their roles as Munna Bhai and his sidekick, Circuit respectively. Most of the cast from the first film Munnabhai M.B.B.S. also returned, albeit playing different characters.

The film follows the amiable eponymous underworld don as he begins to 'see' the spirit of Gandhi. Inspired by his interactions with 'Gandhi', he starts preaching and practicing the Gandhian principles of Satyagraha (truth) and Ahimsa (non-violence).

Lage Raho Munna Bhai had a strong cultural impact in India, popularising Gandhism under Munna Bhai's notion of Gandhigiri. As noted by critics, the film has "stirred the popular imagination", leading to a number of Gandhigiri protests in India and in the United States: "For generations born after Gandhi's assassination, Munnabhai, the eponymous hero of the film, has rendered “Gandhism” passé and “Gandhian” arcane. The new buzzword is “Gandhigiri”, a value, and valuable, addition to the lexicon of a culture suffused with every abominable kind of “Dadagiri” and “Goondagiri”.

It was praised by the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, who stated (using Gandhi's nickname, "Bapu" or father) that the film "captures Bapu's message about the power of truth and humanism." The film was generally well received by critics and at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival,was declared a "blockbuster",and was the recipient of a number of awards. It is the first Hindi film to be shown in the United Nations.

Plot

Munna Bhai, the amiable underworld don, is in love with the voice of Jahnavi, a radio jockey. He manages to get on her show by winning a contest held to celebrate Gandhi Jayanti — Gandhi's birth anniversary. He presents himself as a professor of history, specialising in the life and philosophy of Gandhi. After the radio-show, Munna and Jahnavi strike up a friendship and she invites him to give a talk on Gandhism to a group of senior citizens living in her house, whom she has adopted as part of her family.

Munna, now in a fix, decides to lock himself up in a library and read as much as he can on Gandhi. After three days of continuous studies, he starts "seeing Gandhi" (or a ghost or spirit of him). He is able to converse with 'Gandhi', who agrees to help him out during the talk. Munna confesses this to his sidekick, Circuit. Circuit cannot see Gandhi but plays along, unwilling to tell Munna that he might be hallucinating. When Munna gives the talk at Jahnavi's house, everyone is impressed.

Meanwhile, Lucky Singh, an unscrupulous businessman who had used Munna's services in the past, now intends to acquire Jahnavi's house. He sends away Munna, Jahnavi and the elders of her family on a free trip to Goa. When they return, Lucky has illegally captured the house.

Munna, taking the advice of 'Gandhi', decides to reclaim the house through non-violent means. He protests peacefully outside Lucky's house. He also begins featuring regularly on Jahnavi's radio-show, taking calls and helping people solve their problems by the use of Satyagraha (truth) and Ahimsa (non-violence). In return, he urges his radio-listeners to send Lucky flowers until he mends his ways and returns the house to its rightful owners.

Lucky tries in vain to bring an end to the protests, eventually threatening to reveal Munna's real identity to Jahnavi. 'Gandhi' advises Munna to confess the truth to Janhavi himself. Jahnavi, on learning that Munna had lied about being a professor, leaves him. Munna is distraught, though 'Gandhi' tells him to remain patient and continue with the protests.

Lucky, having now tried everything to stop Munna, devises a final plan. He calls a press conference where he lets everyone know that Munna can 'see' Gandhi. Munna proudly accepts, and to prove himself, he agrees to answer five questions on Gandhi's life. If he is able to converse with Gandhi, he should be able to answer the questions. He fails to answer the last three questions, upon which a doctor, planted by Lucky, explains to everyone that Munna is hallucinating. Everyone dismisses Munna as mentally unwell. He is forced to accept his condition and decides to leave the city, wanting only to speak to Jahnavi one last time.

He turns up at the radio-station, but she has already left for the day. Being drunk, he decides to talk to her "on-air". In the studio, he gets a call from a girl, Simran, who explains her predicament — her Vedic astrological makeup is believed to be devastating for marriage. Her father hid this from the groom's highly superstitious father. She now worries that on learning the truth, the groom's father would call off the marriage.

Munna advises her to tell the truth. She does, and the wedding is called off as she had feared. Munna ends up at the marriage. It turns out that Simran is the daughter of Lucky. The reason Lucky had wanted Janhavi's house was that the groom's father, after consulting his astrologer, believed that the house would be perfect for the future of the newly married couple. Munna tries to disprove the astrologer's claims as bogus. When the groom's father refuses to be convinced, he has Circuit hold a gun to the astrologer's head. The astrologer faints with fear, and Munna shows everyone how he was incapable of predicting his own future. The groom decides to go ahead with the marriage against his father's wishes. Munna and Circuit are nevertheless, arrested.

Jahnavi turns up at prison and reconciles with Munna — while he had lied about being a professor of Gandhism, he had imbibed Gandhi's principles and had done enough to spread his teachings. Lucky also turns up and bails him out. He hands back the keys to Jahnavi's house.

By the end of the movie, Simran and her fiancee are happily married, Kkhurana drops his superstitions, Jahnavi and Munna get married, and Circuit is adopted by one of the elderly couples.

Box office and ratings

Lage Raho Munna Bhai is the third top grossing Bollywood film of the 21st century, according to boxofficeindia.com, earning Rs 69.97 crores (699 million) net gross in India alone (and has also been rated a "Blockbuster").It has also been financially successful overseas, earning Rs 7 crores (70 million) gross in the United Kingdom, Rs 10.25 crores (102 million) gross in North America, and Rs 4.25 crores (42 million) gross for the rest of the overseas proceeds.

The film was rated as "U" (Universal: Suitable for all ages) by the Central Board of Film Certification of India and PG–13 by the Motion Picture Association of America. Similar ratings were awarded in other countries such as Australia and the UK.

Cast

Sanjay Dutt as Murli Prasad Sharma, known affectionately as Munna Bhai
Arshad Warsi as Circuit, Munna's loyal sidekick
Dilip Prabhavalkar as Gandhi, or rather, the spirit of Gandhi that Munna sees
Vidya Balan as Jahnavi, radio-jockey and Munna's love-interest
Boman Irani as Lucky Singh
Dia Mirza as Simran, Lucky's daughter
Kulbhushan Kharbanda as Kkhurana, the father of Simran's fiancee
Saurabh Shukla as Batuk Maharaj, his astrologer
Jimmy Shergill as Victor D'Souza, who having lost his father's money, heeds Munna's advice
Parikshat Sahni as Victor's father