Munna Bhai

I'm back. Three months is a long time to let a blog go fallow. Sorry about that...

I must recommend two Bollywood movies I recently viewed: "Munna Bhai" and "Lage Raho Munna Bhai". Sanjay Dutt stars in both movies, and although I must admit that I haven't been a particularly huge Sanjay Dutt fan, I like him a lot more after these movies. Dutt, from what I've seen, usually plays the kindly oaf who either gets the girl at the end (because he's just too nice) or gives up the girl in the end (because he knows she loves someone else...and he's just too nice) and looks absolutely morose throughout the entire process. His character in the Munna Bhai movies, however, is that of a small time hood who has to convince his family and friends that he is either a doctor (1st movie) or a history professor specializing in Ghandi (2nd movie). Wacky hijinks ensue. Netflix can give a better plot synopsis for you.

Gracy Singh stars as his love interest in the first. You may remember her as the extremely cute love interest in "Lagaan", which is an absolute must-see for anyone looking for a good introduction to Bollywood films. Lagaan has a wonderful sound track, an exciting storyline, and is possibly the only film in the history of cinema to make the sport Cricket actually interesting.

But I digress...Vidya Balan is the love interest in the second film. Like most Bollywood actresses, she is impossibly beautiful...but she is also very entertaining. And like the main character in the film, I was becoming entranced by her shouting, "Good Morning, Mumbai!" But enough of that.

Arshad Warsi, who plays "Circuit", Munnabhai's sidekick, is very funny. As far as I can tell, he seems to be making a career of second tier character actors. If anyone knows of any movies that showcase him better, please let me know.

I just read that Lage Raho Munna Bhai" did very well at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, and has been praised in India for promoting "Ghandiism". Cool.

But of course one mustn't forget the requisite song and dance numbers, of which there are plenty. And there pretty good. The songs from both movies are very catchy, and it was a long time before I stopped humming "Munna Bhai MBBS."

Oh, terrific. Now I'm humming it again. Damn.