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How Sanjay Dutt came on board for Munna Bhai MBBS despite being 'banned' by whole industry
Vidhu Vinod Chopra talks about how Sanjay Dutt was finalized to play the title role in Munna Bhai MBBS despite being banned by whole industry. Read for details.
Munna Bhai MBBS with Sanjay Dutt in the lead released in 2003 and is still remembered as one of the best comedy dramas of Bollywood. Sanjay got into the skin of the character and made it his own and now you can't imagine any other actor in that role.
Producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra has now shared that he initially offered Jimmy Sheirgill's part to Sanjay Dutt in the film and that too because he was banned by the whole industry. However, things shaped differently later and Dutt got the lead role.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra on how Sanjay Dutt came on board for Munna Bhai MBBS
While speaking at the Kellogg Management School, Vidhu Vinod Chopra talked about how he announced a film with Sanjay Dutt only because he was banned by the industry which he thought was wrong. VVC said that he wanted to stand in solidarity with the actor which is why he went to his house and announced a film with him.
The filmmaker recalled that Sanjay's father and veteran actor Sunil Dutt warned him that he’ll be banned as well, but he said, he doesn't care. He further added that Sanjay Dutt called him immediately after coming out of the jail but VVC didn't want to work with him. 
"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’." said Vidhu Vinod Chopra while adding that Sanjay is a very simple man who thought the announcement meant they were going to do the film together.
However, Sanjay Dutt promptly agreed when he was offered the character of Zaheer later played by Jimmy Sheirgill. 'Anything' he said. Later when Shah Rukh Khan backed out of the film, the filmmaker offered Sanjay the main role. "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…” recalled VVC.
More about Munna Bhai MBBS
Munna Bhai MBBS revolves around a gangster who wants to become a doctor to fulfill his father's wish. But he has to go through several hilarious situations when he gets admission in a medical college. Directed by Rajkumar Hirani, the film stars Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Gracy Singh, Boman Irani, and Sunil Dutt among others.
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