Despite a morning spent in the company of google, I still have no
idea how old Gracy Singh is. My searches have turned up a variety of
personal information, including her home address (apparently Bollywood
stars are a bit less concerned about stalkers than the Hollywood
variety) but nothing on her age. Regardless, she looks far, far too
young to have been a childhood friend of Sanjay Dutt in Munnabhai M.B.B.S.
(2003). They look like an odd romantic couple to begin with, since
Singh is young, petite, and darned cute, while Dutt is a huge craggy
slab of a man who reminds me vaguely of Rutger Hauer, but as childhood
friends?
Childhood friends they are, though, and while little Chinki (Singh) has grown up to be the respected Dr. Suman, Munna (Dutt) is the local crimelord with a heart of gold. We see the heart of gold in action almost immediately, as he cheerfully switches extortion targets after discovering that the man he’s kidnapped has already paid. More importantly for a Bollywood hero, though, Munna loves his parents! In a moment of weakness, he told his father (Sunil Dutt, Sanjay’s real-life dad) that he was a doctor, and now, whenever his parents visit from the home village, Munna and his men stage an elaborate charade involving the hospital that Munna supposedly runs.
It’s an interesting premise with a lot of comedic potential, and the movie disposes of it within the first twenty minutes; Munna’s father bumps into Chinki’s father, Dr. Asthana (Boman Irani, who was the principal in Main Hoon Na and is completely unrecognizable here), and like all Indian parents, they immediately try to get their respective children married off. In the process, Munna’s lie is uncovered, and his parents go back to the village in shame. Rather than having Dr. Asthana killed (heart of gold, remember), Munna decides to become a real doctor, and bullies himself into the best medical school in the area, a school which happens to be run by Dr. Asthana, leading to a fish-out-of-water comedy in which the charming, oafish, and good-hearted Munna clashes with the crusty dean and the medical establishment, teaching everyone a lesson in love and caring in the process.
Reading the synopsis above, Munnabhai sounds like a cross between Patch Adams and a typical Adam Sandler comedy. The difference is that Munnabhai is actually a good movie. It’s overly sentimental, much of the medicine is utter nonsense (including a rehash of that old Bollywood standard, “People in comas just aren’t trying hard enough"), and I still have trouble swallowing Sanjay Dutt and Gracy Singh as childhood friends, but the movie is really funny. The humor translates over cultural lines quite well, without being crude slapstick; indeed, there’s a curious innocence to the movie, even after the stripper shows up.
More to the point, Sanjay Dutt is a walking mountain of solid charisma and sheer manliness.. (And Adam Sandler is . . . not.) The supporting cast are also quite good, particularly Arshad Warsi as Circuit, Munna’s right hand man. The father son relationship also comes through well; often when actors have a real connection, it translates into zero chemistry onscreen, but that isn’t the case here.
At times, the musical numbers were closer to Broadway style than the usual Bollywood fare. with a song growing out of the dialogue rather than detailing the characters’ emotional state or the passage of time. The cinematography reflects this, and there are no lavish Farah Khan dance numbers.
Often, the Bollywood movies I watch star the same people in different combinations. That’s not the case here; I’ve seen Gracy Singh before (in Lagaan and Armaan), but there are no Khans in the lead, no Farida or Reema, not even a Johnny Lever appearance. This was the first Sanjay Dutt film I’ve seen, but it won’t be the last.
Childhood friends they are, though, and while little Chinki (Singh) has grown up to be the respected Dr. Suman, Munna (Dutt) is the local crimelord with a heart of gold. We see the heart of gold in action almost immediately, as he cheerfully switches extortion targets after discovering that the man he’s kidnapped has already paid. More importantly for a Bollywood hero, though, Munna loves his parents! In a moment of weakness, he told his father (Sunil Dutt, Sanjay’s real-life dad) that he was a doctor, and now, whenever his parents visit from the home village, Munna and his men stage an elaborate charade involving the hospital that Munna supposedly runs.
It’s an interesting premise with a lot of comedic potential, and the movie disposes of it within the first twenty minutes; Munna’s father bumps into Chinki’s father, Dr. Asthana (Boman Irani, who was the principal in Main Hoon Na and is completely unrecognizable here), and like all Indian parents, they immediately try to get their respective children married off. In the process, Munna’s lie is uncovered, and his parents go back to the village in shame. Rather than having Dr. Asthana killed (heart of gold, remember), Munna decides to become a real doctor, and bullies himself into the best medical school in the area, a school which happens to be run by Dr. Asthana, leading to a fish-out-of-water comedy in which the charming, oafish, and good-hearted Munna clashes with the crusty dean and the medical establishment, teaching everyone a lesson in love and caring in the process.
Reading the synopsis above, Munnabhai sounds like a cross between Patch Adams and a typical Adam Sandler comedy. The difference is that Munnabhai is actually a good movie. It’s overly sentimental, much of the medicine is utter nonsense (including a rehash of that old Bollywood standard, “People in comas just aren’t trying hard enough"), and I still have trouble swallowing Sanjay Dutt and Gracy Singh as childhood friends, but the movie is really funny. The humor translates over cultural lines quite well, without being crude slapstick; indeed, there’s a curious innocence to the movie, even after the stripper shows up.
More to the point, Sanjay Dutt is a walking mountain of solid charisma and sheer manliness.. (And Adam Sandler is . . . not.) The supporting cast are also quite good, particularly Arshad Warsi as Circuit, Munna’s right hand man. The father son relationship also comes through well; often when actors have a real connection, it translates into zero chemistry onscreen, but that isn’t the case here.
At times, the musical numbers were closer to Broadway style than the usual Bollywood fare. with a song growing out of the dialogue rather than detailing the characters’ emotional state or the passage of time. The cinematography reflects this, and there are no lavish Farah Khan dance numbers.
Often, the Bollywood movies I watch star the same people in different combinations. That’s not the case here; I’ve seen Gracy Singh before (in Lagaan and Armaan), but there are no Khans in the lead, no Farida or Reema, not even a Johnny Lever appearance. This was the first Sanjay Dutt film I’ve seen, but it won’t be the last.
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