Munnabhai and 3 Idiots Trivia

Article by Gaurav Joshi (a.k.a gj007 in the comments section)

I am a massive fan of Rajkumar Hirani. I have read many of his interviews thereby fetching some really interesting trivia about his films. I am pretty sure most of you have no idea about it.

Presenting unknown facts about blockbuster hits, Munna Bhai M.B.B.S, Lage Raho Munna Bhai and our very favourite, 3 Idiots!

Let us begin!

Munna Bhai M.B.B.S:

1. Circuit’s original name was supposed to be Farooque Khujli.

Arshad Warsi thought the name was quite itchy. He suggested Hirani to try other options. The character had this trait of losing his ‘fuse’ when anything happens to Munna Bhai. So Hirani changed Khujli to ‘Short Circuit’. From Short Circuit, it became Circuit. The short circuit joke was included in climax of the film.

2. The original script of Munna Bhai MBBS

The original story was not meant to be a lighthearted comedy. It was a hard hitting satire on medical profession. The plot was about an underworld don who suddenly has a nasty headache one day. He visits a hospital thinking something is wrong with him. Doctors ask him to perform several tests and bill him a hefty amount.

Next day, he wakes up and realises it was just a hangover. Doctors took advantage of his ignorance and conned him. He ponders that as an underworld don even he robs people but the medical profession has lot of status and respect. ‘Even I want respect!’ he declares and decides to become a doctor.

This part got deleted from the script when Vidhu Vinod Chopra came on board. However they retained this idea in the teaser of Lage Raho Munna Bhai where we see Munna Bhai dreaming of earning respect!

Check this out:

3. First 2 choices of Munna Bhai MBBS: Anil Kapoor and Vivek Oberoi.

Even before thinking about Shah Rukh Khan and Sanjay Dutt, Vinod Chopra and Rajkumar Hirani wanted Anil Kapoor as Munna Bhai. Anil Kapoor was a good friend and regular collaborator of producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra. They thought of him at the scripting stage but when the final draft was ready, Anil Kapoor didn’t look as the right choice. He was not even approached.

The makers then approached Vivek Oberoi. Technically he was the first choice. He rejected the film saying the script was not convincing. Poor Vivek.

4. The toughest scene of the movie and how it was shot.

Remember the famous carom board scene shot in hospital? Hirani admits it was the toughest scene to shoot for a low budget movie and he in fact took different shots for different actors. A shot featuring heroine Gracy Singh. One featuring Munna and Circuit. One with the old man, one with Jimmy Shergill and the last shot with carom board. In the editing table he combined all shots and made this a remarkable scene!

Let us now move ahead to Rajkumar Hirani’s second film.

Lage Raho Munna Bhai

1. The sequel of Munna Bhai and Original Plot:

After doctors, Vinod Chopra and Rajkumar Hirani wanted to tackle with Lawyers. Munna Bhai LLB was supposed to be the sequel of MBBS. But due to the cult success of MBBS, Hirani wanted to make it as good as the first one. He got stuck after writing the first half of the script.

He was also writing a story about a young boy who works with Mahatma Gandhi during freedom movement. During one such peaceful protest, he injures himself and goes in coma. He wakes up after 50 years when the world has changed and Gandhiji is no more. The story was supposed to be about the boy in quest of Gandhiji.

One morning Raju Hirani got an idea that he should combine Munna Bhai with second story to make it more entertaining and Lage Raho Munna Bhai was born!

2. Guess who was supposed to be the male lead?

When Munna Bhai LLB got stuck, and the idea of Gandhiji story was developing, Hirani wanted Aamir Khan to play the male lead. He had asked Aamir for an appointment. But on the day of narration, Hirani told Aamir that he had 2 scripts with him. And he personally wanted to make a Munna bhai film. Aamir told him, he should go ahead with Munna Bhai and not the other idea.

We all know that Aamir rejects big filmmakers if he isn’t happy with the script. Hirani was the first person to reject Aamir for the same reason!

3. A dig at his wife.

If you remember the scene where Circuit tells Munna to visit library and read about Gandhiji, Munna says:

“Koi aur tarika nahi he kya?”

Circuit: Bhai, ek kaam karo tum dusre radio station pe try karo. Udhar ek item hai, ‘Anupama Chopra’. Din Bhar wo Shahrukh Khan ki bat karti rehti hai. Uske Buddhe log Dilip Kumar ke fan hoenge. Unko apun sambhal lenge.

Yes the famous critic and wife of Vinod Chopra was trolled here.

4. Lage Raho Munna Bhai to be banned?

The director and producer duo were told, this movie will get banned because of a scene where Munna and Circuit are drinking in front of Father of the Nation. In fact protests had started just after the release but Tushar Gandhi, the great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi issued a statement saying this is the best tribute to Gandhiji because the movie showcases him as a friend not as a teacher.

After this statement, protests came to a stand still.

Now presenting some interesting trivia on one of the most popular cults of Indian Cinema.

3 Idiots

1. The meaning of 3 I.D.I.O.T.S and Original choice:

The title had 2 meanings. One which we all know. Those who follow their hearts and defy conventional method are called “Idiots” But here’s an unknown fact!

3 Idiots was an acronym for “I Do It On my TermS!” Which in itself signified the entire movie.

Rajkumar Hirani wanted 4 fresh boys for the role. When he realised he needed experienced actors, he approached Vivek Oberoi for the role of Rancho. Vivek Oberoi rejected the role, even before SRK! [Poor poor Vivek. :P]

2. Characterisation of Virus:

Do you know, Virus was given a trait of Mahatma Gandhi? Gandhiji as we all know was a very busy man. So busy that he couldn’t afford wasting time on shaving his beard! While researching for Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Hirani learnt that Gandhiji had told his followers to cut his nails or shave his beard when he took a nap, just to save time. Hirani couldn’t translate this idea into screenplay of Munna Bhai.

While writing 3 Idiots, they wanted to make a cartoonish professor, so they took this idea and added the power-nap and opera to it and gave us a whimsically funny Virus!

3. The climax of the film.

The climax of 3 idiots was actually a scene originally written for Munna Bhai MBBS. Even before Hirani wrote MBBS, he was writing a story about 3 medical students. On a drunken night, they see a young women in pain and they perform her child delivery. But in the later drafts, the protagonist switched from medical student to Munna Bhai and the scene wasn’t utilised.

While scripting 3 idiots, the makers used this scene where the 3 medical students were substituted with 3 engineering students, which formed the climax of 3 Idiots!

4. How Rancho was born!

11 years before 3 Idiots was written, Abhijat Joshi had previously worked on a film called Kareeb. On the sets of Kareeb, Renu Saluja (the editor of the movie) introduced Abhijat to a gentleman who had been to a premium institute under a false name! Abhijat found this guy to be bizarre because all his classmates called him with his fake identity. While writing Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Abhijat told this to Raju Hirani, who actually met this guy and spent some time with him.

And that’s how, Rancho was born!