You have always been saying that Lage Raho Munnabhai is not a sequel. Why is that?
Yes, I said that because Lage Raho Munnabhai is a stand-alone film that could have been made even if Munnabhai MBBS had not existed. It is a different film altogether. But I think that the lively characters of Munnabhai and Circuit have helped this film. If Munnabhai MBBS had not succeeded, I would have created fresh characters. But obviously the popularity of that film and its protagonists helped me as I needed a don this time too. And using the familiar, much-loved characters helped save film length. I did not need to establish the two central figures.
Could you encapsulate the conception of Munnabhai, Circuit and the original film for those who came in late?
Well, I am a small-town guy from Nagpur. I had a lot of friends who went into medical college. So I spent a lot of time there and found it all very fascinating. The writer in me sensed a story in that place. I had a theatre background and soon joined the Film And Television Institute of India for the course in Editing. It was here that I wrote a script about three students in medical college. But while it was a very funny story of the anecdotal kind, I thought there was no spine binding it together. So I kept it aside.
Some time later, I began working on another concept - of a patient who dies and returns as a ghost to correct the problems and wrongs of the medical system. Par mazaa nahin aaya. And then one day, I thought of what would happen if a don with a heart of gold went to medical college. Since he did not belong there, it automatically had comic potential. I began writing, and six months later I had a complete script and went to Vinod Chopra and asked him whether he could put me in touch with some stars so that I could sign them, raise money and produce the film. But when Vinod read my script he decided to produce the film.
Have you decided to work only with Vinod Chopra Productions?
Let me put it this way - Vinod Chopra Productions is home to me, they are like family. Vinod and I have an unspoken bond. So when I am absolutely comfortable with someone, why should I venture out? I have been a part of the brainstorming and making of Parineeta and Eklavya because I am a part of the family. In any case, I do not want to make three or four films at a time just to cash in on my last film’s success and make lots of money for myself.
I have been associated with Vinod, who is the most super human being I have met, since I cut the promos for 1942 - A Love Story and Kareeb and also edited Mission Kashmir after Renu Saluja passed away.
We heard of a sequel to Munnabhai MBBS, then a prequel and finally this film that you once called a ’sequence’. Obviously some scripts did not work.
Absolutely. I began writing a script centering around the profession of Law. Munnabhai LLB, up to the point I have written it, is brilliant even if I say so myself. But at that point I am completely stuck. Because of this I began writing a script that was not a Munnabhai story, but that did not work out either.
Even after the idea for Lage Raho Munnabhai came to me, it wasn’t easy. I would ay that LRM was 10 times more difficult to write than the earlier film, which happened and had nothing with which it could have been compared. You see, the idea was not at all to just cash in and deliver something. I had to work hard at making LRM better than the first film, or there was no point in making it at all. I spent 30 months on the script for this reason. And I think that we have succeeded and that it is going to be better. There was a trial show for the industry yesterday and the response was overwhelming. No one said that I had got another hit, they all said that the film touched them and affected them in a big way. Many were moved to tears, and I still find it difficult to believe that a distributor like Shyam Shroff went out of his way to send me a special congratulatory message.
Speaking of messages, what is the message you want to give here?
The film has a far, far bigger message that the one I gave in Munnabhai MBBS. But once again, there is no preaching and it has been done in an entertaining way.
Is it the message of non-violence? The promos give a Statutory Warning that the film contains ’Non-Violence’.
(Smiles) You will know when you watch the film.
Was it also more difficult for Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi this time?
Yes, they were constantly worried with the comparison that would be inevitably made with the earlier film. They were really scared of losing the affection that they have got. Arshad kept saying, “If I fail I will be ruined because the audience will hate me for destroying my ow n creation!” Sanjay and he would doubly check and wonder whether a joke was working. But as in my case, I think that it worked for the betterment of our film. For example, Arshad has done a much superior job - his performance has lots more meat than before.
Despite the success of sequels like Phir Hera Pheri and Krrish, there are more remakes being made than sequels. Why is this?
Remakes are being made only because there is a shortage of original scripts! They can be made fast. But I think that there will also be 12 sequels in the making by next year!
Including a third Munnabhai enterprise?
(Smiles) I was not keen on even a second Munnabhai film. I was even less keen on a third after completing LRM. But now after watching the response yesterday to its screening, I have begun to think that characters who are loved to this extent should live longer! With LRM I have got a great support system on board - he is Professor Abhijat Joshi, who teaches in an American University and writes scripts. He has worked on LRM - we did it entirely over e-mails! - and with him around I think that we can keep churning stories that keep getting better!
A major team member missing is Anu Malik. Why did you feel the need to change the music director?
Shantanu Moitra just happened. We were working on Parineeta and Eklavya and he was as much a part of them as I was. By that I mean that though he was the music director of these films, he was with the units all the way - from the scripting sessions to the shoots. He was constantly available and would suggest ideas for songs and background scores even during the writing of the scripts and shoots. He similarly sat in on the writing of LRM and would suggest musical pieces and embellishments on his guitar even when there was no understanding that he would do the music. It was his involvement that did the trick.
What is your reaction to a `Predictameter’ study that says that your film will be the biggest hit of the year?
Honestly, when predictions can go wrong even after watching a film I do not know how success or failure can be assessed without watching the film! I personally think that one can only predict the opening that a film can get based on public perception of the film through the promos and media-hype, and in this case, the audience’s love for the characters.
You must have got a kick when Munnabhai MBBS became the first Hindi film whose rights have been bought for an English remake. When is that happening?
Well, it is exciting. They begin shooting around January. Chris Tucker will play the lead. I am happy because it answers allegations that MunnabhaI MBBS had some foreign film as a base. If that was so, why would they have come to us for the remake rights?
Vinod and you are both FTII people, where influences of art and European cinema abounded. Vinod has even begun with art and middle-of-the-road cinema. What are your own sensibilities?
I think that in the DVD era things are changing even at the FTII. The earlier FTII graduates were quite influenced by the kind of cinema you mention because they had little exposure to Hollywood. They had a strange idealism and a belief that such cinema was the best and thus took time to adapt to our film industry.
Personally, I have been brought up on the cinema of Manmohan Desai on the one hand and that of Hrishikesh Mukherjee on the other. I love Vijay Anand and Guru Dutt too and I think that we are doing better work here than in most other countries.