From Dadagiri to Gandhigiri, Munnabhai is King!

From Dadagiri to Gandhigiri, Lage Raho Munnabhai tries to be slapstick, a satire, and a love story -- all rolled in one -- but fails in the final analysis. Contrite and contrived, the film lacks the spontaneity and conviction to engage the audience’s mind space.



Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi in 'Lage Raho Munnabhai'
From Dadagiri to Gandhigiri, Lage Raho Munnabhai tries to be slapstick, a satire, and a love story -- all rolled in one -- but fails in the final analysis. Contrite and contrived, the film lacks the spontaneity and conviction to engage the audience’s mind space. Audiences thronged to cinema halls to see the laugh riot of the year but this hyped movie only flatters to deceive.

The actors have come up with strong individual performances but seem to fail as a team. Director Raj Kumar Hirani in concert with Vidhu Vinod Chopra invoke the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi (Dilip Prabhawalkar)and the flick does live up to its promise of taking you down laughter lane. Only the humor lacks spontaneity. Munnabhai and Circuit are at best steady, and second best.


Sanjay Dutt and Vidya Balan in 'Lage Raho Munnabhai'
The racy start shows Munnabhai answering 10 questions on Mahatma Gandhi put out by Radio Jockey Jhanvi (Vidya Balan) with the help of ‘hostage’ professors. The RJ-fixated Munna is deeply in love with Jhanvi and their on-screen chemistry is the highpoint of the film. She invites him to her hilarious ‘Second Innings Home’ to lecture the Senior Citizens on Gandhian values.

The ball is set rolling. The movie becomes a vehicle for jingoistic nationalism and the film-makers try and sell Gandhian values to the conuntry's youth.

In the story, the iconic Munnabhai continues to indulge in dadagiri with his trusted aide Circuit. Builder Lakhbir Singh nee Lucky (Boman Irani) wants to get hold of a bungalow by the sea for his daughter Simran’s (Dia Mirza) wedding gift. The bungalow is leased to Jhanvi’s grandfather and all his senior citizen friends shack up under one roof, to pick up the pieces of their broken lives.


Boman Irani in 'Lage Raho Munnabhai'
Vidya Balan is refreshingly stunning and plays her part to perfection. As for Boman Irani, he seems to grow in stature with the passage of each film.

The refrain of ‘Bande Mein Tha Dum…Vande Matram’ is suggestively used and portrays Gandhian thought in a pop format. And, by using Munna as Gandhi’s unlikely messenger, the film gives a comical perspective of how a ‘tapori’ can make the transition from violence to non-violence. Instead of thrashing people and breaking their bones, Munna mobilizes support from ordinary citizens through his program on radio where he listens to the plight of common folk and gives them unique Gandhian solutions that work. As RJ, Munna does have some great lines and moments, especially when Gandhi speaks in the Mumbai lingo. Quiet like the Rang De Basanti genre, Lage Raho Munnabhai tries to connect with the young audience and tells them about the virtues of freedom and independence, and what it should mean to us.

In the final analysis, Abhishek Bachchan’s cameo fails to steal the show. However, the characters at the old age home are refreshingly candid in their performances. Shantanu Moitra’s music is notable for ‘Bande Mein Tha Dum’, and ‘Pal Pal. It is a movie that is watchable, but one which uses clichés and jingoism to sell the concept of truth -- in a humorous vein.