Filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra shared insights into the process that led to Sanjay Dutt being cast in the iconic role of Munna Bhai. Despite Dutt facing a ban from the industry following a conviction in a terrorism case, Chopra believed it was not the right course of action. To support the actor during his challenging times, Chopra announced that he had cast Dutt for a project. Originally, Dutt was set to portray a character eventually played by Jimmy Shergill, with Shah Rukh Khan initially considered for the lead role of Munna Bhai.
During a conversation at the Kellogg Management School, the filmmaker acknowledged that he initially didn’t intend to cast Sanjay Dutt in the film. Therefore, when Dutt was released from jail and keen to collaborate, he informed him that they would need to postpone their work together. “Sanjay Dutt went to jail. I didn’t know him at all. The whole industry banned him, but I thought this was very wrong, so I went to his house and announced a film with him. His father said that I’ll be banned as well, but I said, ‘I don’t care’,” revealed Chopra.
The 12th Fail director added, “Then, Sanjay Dutt comes out of jail. I remember him calling me from the car. He said he wanted to meet, and he wanted his first comeback film to be with me. I told him, ‘I’ll never make a film with you, I just announced it because it was the right thing to do’. He’s a very simple man. A good man, but a simple man. He thought the announcement meant that we were actually going to work together. I said, ‘I cannot make a film with you unless the equation changes, because I cannot exploit a good deed’. It’s a terrible thing to do, that you do something good and exploit it.”
Dutt, as per Chopra, struggled to grasp this notion, “So when I told him to do Jimmy Shergill’s role, he agreed. He said, ‘Anything’. ” revealed Chopra. “Then, Shah Rukh, of course, came to me and he had a throat thing… So, I decided that Sanjay Dutt is the right guy. I told him, ‘You’re doing Munna Bhai’. And he’s such a simple fellow, he said, ‘I know’. I said, ‘No, not that role, main Munna Bhai’. He said, ‘Okay, if you say so, I’ll do it’. He never reads a script…”
Chopra revealed that Dutt had a habit of being consistently late to work, leading director Rajkumar Hirani to express his frustrations by making multiple calls to him. Chopra revealed that Dutt had a habit of being consistently late to work, leading director Rajkumar Hirani to express his frustrations by making multiple calls to him. “Raju would often contact me, exasperated, stating, ‘Sir, he hasn’t arrived yet.’ When I tried calling him, he wouldn’t pick up. Interestingly, once he finally arrived on set, he would promptly return my call, asking, ‘Yes, sir, did you call?'”
The success of Munna Bhai propelled it to blockbuster status, resulting in a sequel titled Lage Raho Munna Bhai. Chopra and Hirani extended their collaboration to produce a film centered on Dutt’s life, titled Sanju casting Ranbir Kapoor in the leading role.
The success of Munna Bhai propelled it to blockbuster status, resulting in a sequel titled Lage Raho Munna Bhai. Chopra and Hirani extended their collaboration to produce a film centered on Dutt’s life, casting Ranbir Kapoor in the leading role.
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