By Hindustan Times
Sanjay Dutt, who plays the title role in director Raju Hirani’s popular Munnabhai franchise, hopes to play the cute don even if he turns 80. He says, “Vinod (producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra) once told me, “Tu assi saal ka ho jayega then also (even if you switch 80...), I CAN make Munnabhai with you.”
Adding that he was told subsequent films won't include a romantic angle for the loveable don, Sanjay reveals, “I told Vinod, ‘let it be’. I miss Munnabhai and would like to play a ‘tapori’ (vagabond) with a conscience all my life.”
The film franchise, Sanjay says, was chargeable for a shift in his public image, which had taken a beating after he was arrested for illegal possession of arms in 1993. He says, “From khalnayak (villain), I became Munnabhai. A TASK like that comes once in a life-time. It was not only an inspiration for others; it was a lesson for me as well.”
Quiz him on whether he’s imbibed the qualities of his onscreen avatar — a goon who turns medical student to provoke his father — and Sanjay says, “I understood what it means for a patient to be hugged by a health care provider. AN INSIGNIFICANT hug expresses such a lot warmth and happiness to the opposite person. Now, I make it some degree to hug people I LOVE. It (Munnabhai) changed my life.”
Recent rumours claimed that new faces were being considered to play Munnabhai and his sidekick Circuit (Arshad Warsi). But writer-director Raju clears all doubts, saying, “I can’t imagine anyone else playing Munna and Circuit.”
Producer Vinod had earlier hinted at Raju being replaced by his assistant, Ferrari Ki Sawaari director Rajesh Mapuskar. Ask who will helm the third installment of the franchise, and Raju says, “It’s too early to mention who will helm the project. The one constant can be Munna and Circuit. The film should release much before 2014.”
At the moment, the trio is operating on Peekay, which reportedly stars Aamir Khan.
“We will first start with that film. There may be still some work left at the next Munnabhai script,” Raju adds.
Ask whether the Munnabhai Chale America script, which was imagined to be the third part within the series, is scrapped, and Raju says, “There might be another story first. We may use some ideas from Chale America… or make that one later.”
