MUMBAI: Filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra recently shared very interesting and intriguing anecdotes of one of his most successful films Munna Bhai M.B.B.S, released in 2003. In a fireside chat with Kellogg School of Management recently he said that his first choice for the titular role was actor Shah Rukh and Vidhu approached him for Rajkumar Hirani-directed ‘Munna Bhai MBBS’ in 2003 production. However, Shah Rukh’s medical concerns led him to opt out of the project after which the duo decided on Sanjay Dutt.

Chopra then said that was the time when the entire industry had ‘banned’ Sanjay Dutt following his conviction in an arms possession case, but he decided to pack him and the actor in turn promised to work with him in an act of solidarity as his relaunch vehicle and the film went to become one of the most successful franchises of all times.

He also cited his experience with a Tamil Nadu-based film distributor, who withdrew his support three days before the film’s release date leaving Chopra to take a big risk and distribute the film himself. Recalling the incident Chopra said the distributor from South initially bought the film for 11 lakh and paid Rs 5 lakh advance to Chopra Productions. However, just days before the release he came back and said that having seen the film he felt no one would understand it and thus he said he would not release the film and Chopra had to return the money.

According to Chopra who admitted that he was not very well off at that time then approached a distribtutor friend Shyam Shroff and they had one single 11.45 am morning show in Satyam, a big theatre in Tamil Nadu and the rest he said was history sharing that the production made Rs 1.67 crore in Tamil Nadu alone. The film won several popular awards including the 2004 National Film Awards for Best Popular Film. Interestingly the film was remade in Tamil as Vasool Raja M.B.B.S. (2004), in Telugu as Shankar Dada M.B.B.S. (2004) and in Kannada as Uppi Dada M.B.B.S. (2007).

The Munna Bhai film series, which includes Munna Bhai M.B.B.S, was released in 2003, and its sequel, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, in 2006. Chopra is a maker of successful films like Parinda (1989), 1942: A Love Story (1994), Mission Kashmir (2000) 3 Idiots (2009), PK (2014), and Sanju (2018) and most lately the biographical drama 12th Fail (2023) which has been highly successful.