I know this is not the right time to post after hearing of the news of Ghanshyam Nayak (Nattu Kaka)’s passing. But today I watched Lage Raho Munna Bhai for the first time as an adult, one day after Gandhi Jayanti. My god there are far many more similarities in Raju Hirani movies than I thought. Comparisons are between LRMB, 3 Idi*ts and PK, as I didn’t watch Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.
1. A similar set of songs: a fun song (title track of LRMB, Aal Izz Well, Nanga Punga Dost in PK); a romantic track (Pal Pal Har Pal in LRMB, Zoobi Doobi in 3 Idi*ts, Chaar Kadam in PK); an emotional song (Bande Mein Tha Dum - Vande Mataram in LRMB, Jaane Nahi Denge Tujhe in 3 Idi*ts, Bhagawan Hai Kahan Re Tu in PK). Interestingly both LRMB and PK have most or many of their songs in the E major chord.
2. Boman Irani in all three as well as MBMBBS. I never knew that Lucky Singh in LRMB is actually Boman Irani untill I looked up Wikipedia. He is such an effective Punjabi sardar!
3. Saurabh Shukla as an astrologer in both LRMB and PK. Sanjay Dutt appears in PK too.
4. A heroic lead: Sanjay Dutt in the Munnabhai movies, Aamir Khan in the other two. The chemistry with the girl fails until the last scene. However the girls kept changing from film to film: Vidya in LRMB, Kareena in 3 Idi*ts and Anushka in PK.
5. Belief in values and abiding by them: Gandhigiri in LRMB, Aal Izz Well in 3 Idi*ts and believing in a true god in PK.
What struck me most is that some things such as the cars clearly indicate that LRMB was released 15 years ago, but other things, such as modern offices, are very much similar today. So LRMB feels a little odd: old at times, but modern at others.
Above all, these films are evergreen and everlasting. They carry a strong message along with entertainment. They are Sony Max’s best assets other than whatever is still there of the YRF library.
