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playermagic23 · 10 months ago

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20 Years of Munna Bhai MBBS EXCLUSIVE: Khurshed Lawyer talks about playing Swami in the Sanjay Dutt-starrer: “The film got delayed for nearly 10 months due to Shah Rukh Khan’s back injury”

Munna Bhai MBBS (2003) completed 20 years last month, on December 19. It’s a film that revived Arshad Warsi’s career and made director Rajkumar Hirani and actors Boman Irani, Kurush Deboo, Yatin Karyekar, etc known personalities across the country. Another actor who got fame through the Sanjay Dutt-starrer was Khurshed Lawyer. He played the role of Nagarajan Swami, Munna’s roommate. Despite limited screen time, he left a mark and is also a part of the now famous ‘Mast hai; apun ko bhi karne ka hai’ meme. As Munna Bhai MBBS celebrated its 20th anniversary, Bollywood Hungama exclusively spoke with Khurshed Lawyer about the film and a lot more.

What were you doing before you landed the role in Munna Bhai MBBS? After I graduated from college in 1996, I started working with Tinkle Comics. I was the sub-editor in Amar Chitra Katha. Then I was an information analyst at The Indian Express. We started with having news on the web. This was in the year 1998 when the internet was new. Hence, the experience was thrilling. Then I underwent laser surgery for my eyes. This gave me the confidence to get into acting. Until then, main bahut hi darr raha tha. The number in my eyes was -16 or 17. I used to look funny wearing the soda bottle glasses.

After the surgery, I spent my savings and made my portfolio. In 2000, I worked in three ads. One of them was for Channel V. Since the director liked me a lot, he offered me two more assignments. So in all, I worked on five projects. In 2001, I didn’t get any work. My bank balance was low. Those were the days when we used to have only hard copies of the photographs. So, once you gave the pictures to someone, we had to make another copy and that used to add to the financial burden. Nevertheless, I decided that I’d do one big project and then I would quit. Then one day, I got a call to audition for Munna Bhai MBBS.

What was the audition process like? I got a call from Rajkumar Hirani’s office. I was told to not just get ragged but also rag a student. Dono karna tha. Later, I was told on call that I had been selected. At first, I thought they had wrongly called me because the person who called me was from Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s office. Aur maine toh unki office dekhi bhi nahin thi! I felt ‘Main wahan jaunga aur pappu ho jaayega’! I told them that they had dialled the wrong person’s number. This is when they explained the whole situation to me. And I was like ‘Toh fir right number lagaya hai aapne’!

How did you get the audition call? There was a casting coordinator in those days. Also, I had gone to Rajkumar Hirani’s office, Canvas Films, many times for auditions. So, they had my photographs. Those days, directors would meet people. They would have an interaction with actors. It was unlike the chaotic, undisciplined scene that exists today. There were limited people and there was a system in place. Tab aisa nahin hota tha ki har dusra insaan bole ki ‘Main acting karunga’ and reel bana ke daal di.

Meanwhile, I was getting older obviously and people used to mock me that I left a steady job. It’s a typical Indian mindset. I was the first one in my family to get into acting. Though my parents were very supportive, somewhere deep inside, they also felt anxious. And I also felt guilty since no money was coming in and I was living off my parents’ money.

Finally, Munna Bhai MBBS went on floors. It got delayed for nearly 10 months due to Shah Rukh Khan’s back injury. Once I shot for the film, I joined a call centre. I was true to my word – I had decided to work in one big film and quit, with a heavy heart though. Thankfully, Munna Bhai MBBS worked. People started recognizing me. I started getting more work. Meanwhile, call centre mein panga hone laga as some people were jealous. My team leader Atul purposely would make things difficult for me. He was not able to digest the fact that I was getting a lot of popularity. My call centre manager, however, used to adjust for me. He would grant me leave if I had to go for a shoot. On my part, I used to manage in such a way that work would not be affected. Nevertheless, I was told that things were getting messy because of my work arrangement. This is when I decided that I’d quit. My family was also supportive.

How much were you paid for your part in Munna Bhai MBBS? I was paid approx. Rs, 50,000. That was a big amount then, as good as Rs. 5 lakhs.

How many days did you shoot?

I shot for 15-20 days spread over six months.

What was your first shot? I had to first rehearse the chaddi dance. I was wondering why I was doing this bit as the scene was different. Nevertheless, I was happy that chaddi mein dance karne milega! Then, I was told that I didn’t have to do the chaddi dance. Dil toot gaya bechare aadmi ka! But on second thoughts, thank God for that actually (laughs).

So, this was the first rehearsal that happened. But my first shot was the one in the room when Munna Bhai enters the room and Circuit tells him ‘Yeh room toh shuru hote hi khatam ho gaya’.

Were you nervous? Not at all. Why would I be nervous? I was excited. But I was not able to stay serious when Munna told my character ‘Sab kuch apna samaj, mere underwear ko chhod ke’! I was supposed to be petrified and keep a poker face. It took a while to get the scene right.

Then, there’s a scene where the doctor is explaining about a dead body. It was being shot in J J College of Anatomy. The room next to the one in which the scene was shot had trunks full of dead bodies. I was roaming around and opened a trunk. And I saw dead bodies staring at me! They were dunked in a solution called formalin. It was enough to get my b***s in my mouth! I ran from there. But I couldn’t resist and went back to check out the mortal remains! I must have done it the whole day.

Then, one doctor asked me what exactly I was doing (laughs). I told him, ‘I am scared to look (at the bodies) but I still want to look at them’. The doctor explained to me the whole process. I also shook hands with a skeleton. I assumed it was made of Plaster of Paris. But the doctor told me that it was a skeleton of a real, dead person. Ussi waqt maine uska haath chod diya!

Did people start recognizing you after the film was released? I went to see the film at Maratha Mandir with my family. In the interval, people noticed that I was a part of the film. In the second half, they would look back at me instead of staring at the screen during my scenes! After the film got over, I was mobbed. Koi bahar hi aane nahin de raha tha. It was the first time that this happened to me and I was wondering, ‘Ab bahar kaise jaayenge hum log?’! We waited inside. Then we assumed that everyone must have left. This is when we came out but 30% of the people were still outside to catch my glimpse!

You said in an interview that you were offered a role in Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006) and 3 Idiots (2009). What were those roles? In Lage Raho Munna Bhai, I was supposed to be a part of the scene when Munna goes to the toilet before meeting the RJ (played by Vidya Balan). Circuit mouths the ‘vinamra’ dialogue to him. That part was ultimately played by Dileep Desai, Rajkumar Hirani’s colleague. Since I was shooting for Home Delivery (2005) and Mr Ya Miss (2005), I had to decline as they called me to shoot the scene at the last minute.

As for 3 Idiots, I couldn’t do it as it was being shot at the same time as I was shooting for Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani (2009). I don’t remember which part I was offered, though.

You were a part of a funny scene in Dunki. How did you become a part of this film? I was called by Mukesh Chhabra’s casting team. But I guess it was Raju sir’s call because he is someone who knows who’ll fit in which role. However, the protocol was followed and the casting director called me.

Did you interact with Shah Rukh Khan? No, as it was a very tight schedule. There was no time to interact and also, it was a very professional setup. On top of it, it was very hot. We shot it in April in Film City. It’s not the time when we can chit-chat under the sun!

Did you get a chance to interact with Shah Rukh Khan for Munna Bhai MBBS?

No, as he never shot for the film. Eventually, things moved with Sanjay Dutt. In my personal opinion, Munna Bhai wouldn’t have been Munna Bhai without Sanjay Dutt and Dunki wouldn’t have been Dunki without Shah Rukh Khan. They both were meant to do their respective characters. It was God’s will, I guess.

How did your parents react to your success? They were more thrilled than me. I am just doing my job, just like everyone else. The only thing is that in my field, there’s a lot of glamour and public love. Both my parents were bankers. They were also very loved by their customers. They knew my parents would help out in case they got stuck. Yet, I received different kinds of appreciation and hence, it was an out-of-the-blue experience for them.

Interestingly, my dad was there in one of the posters of Munna Bhai MBBS. I had gone for the photoshoot. My father was with me and they clicked his snap as well. It is part of a group photograph setup where Munna and Dr Asthana are seated with several professors. My father is next to Boman Irani.

I have now started getting my father to do some ads occasionally, but strictly under my supervision. Unfortunately, the industry doesn’t really take care of people today. I am very particular that he doesn’t need to work at this age. But he likes to act as it helps me get a little excitement in his life (smiles).

#20 Years of Munna Bhai MBBS #Arshad Warsi #Down The Memory Lane #Flashback #Khurshed Lawyer #Munnabhai MBBS #Rajkumar Hirani #Shah Rukh Khan #Throwback #bollywood hungama

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secretagentspydetectiveninja · 1 year ago

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so there's no hindi version of phoenix wright but it absolutely SHOULD exist because it would be so good listen-

(i am fully "localising" this because if the english and french versions of the game were allowed to then so am i, dammit)

it would take place in some big city in india, probably mumbai so that the steel samurai stuff can be connected to bollywood

the last time i was in mumbai i literally saw a japanese temple like down the road from my grandparents' building so the japanese influences aren't even that out of place. it's a big city okay, it could totally work

kurain village can be a "gaon" (village) somewhere in the maharastrian countryside. the fey manor even feels a lot like the big family houses you get out in gaon, though with a lot more japanese influence of course

the thought of pearl calling maya "maya didi" is melting my heart omg ("didi" means "big sister" but you can also use it on people who aren't literally your sister)

maya can still be called maya, it's a common name in india

and morgan would get so mad whenever phoenix doesn't call maya "maya-ji" ("ji" is a respectful suffix like "-sama" in japanese). he'd be like SHE'S MY BEST FRIEND, WHY TF WOULD I CALL HER "MAYA-JI"

edgeworth and gumshoe would have THE jai dixit and ali bhai dynamic from dhoom. without the motorbikes, of course. gumshoe would call people "yaar" instead of "pal" (it means the same thing).

larry is circuit. i don't know how else to put that. if you understand then you understand and if you don't, you don't.

speaking of, furio tigre would ABSOLUTELY refer to himself with the pronoun "apun" (a first-person pronoun often used by mafia-type characters) and call people "mamu" ("sucker")

OH AND WOCKY WOULD TOO. wocky would speak in the most munnabhai slang you ever heard. he would also mix english, hindi, marathi, gujarati, punjabi and bengali all in the same sentence. nigh incomprehensible.

lotta hart... while it makes sense to make her from south india, i feel like they get negatively stereotyped enough as is and they deserve better. so you know what? she can be gujju. lotta is from surat now and she talks like it. she's got that "hurati" accent. morgan fey hears her with her પાણી instead of पानी and ગોળી instead of गोली and is immediately like "get out >:("

wendy oldbag being one of those desi grannies is absolutely brilliant lmao

sister bikini being a desi auntie is even better

me and my brother have been calling hindi manfred von karma "manoj karma" for funsies so i've decided to keep it (the word "karma" is of indian origin so it works perfectly)

i haven't come up with pun names for people yet but phoenix, apollo and athena can keep their english first names. seriously, in mumbai you see places with those names all the time. especially apollo. it is inescapable.

^see? i was DYING. anyways

MAYA'S TRADEMARK FAVOURITE FOOD SHOULD BE PANI PURI ("gol guppa" for you dehli peeps), NO I AM NOT TAKING CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM

khura'in, being likely in the himalayas somewhere near bhutan (based on their climate and culture), would still be a few hours' plane journey from mumbai so it still works. a lot of the khura'inese characters can keep their same names too, eg "nahyuta sahdmadhi" already sounds very very sanskrit to my ears (sanskrit is the south asian equivalent of what latin is in europe). and also have you seen how he dresses because it's clearly a sherwani (indian/pakistani formal clothing) and amara's idle animation is clearly inspired by art of hindu deities and rafya's middle name is literally padma and oh my god there is so much shared cultural influence they are CLEARLY countries that border each other

(the "kh" sound strongly present in the khura'inese language is also giving me south asian vibes...)

me and my brother already joke about how shah rukh khan would totally make a great mr reus/roger retinz. LISTEN okay he absolutely would. he's got that villain swag.

you don't even need to change the other guy's real name ("manov mistree") because that already sounds like an indian name. do you know how common the surname "mistry" is in some parts?? do you know how many gazillions of people i personally know who have names that sound exactly like that??? and roger retinz is the ratings rajah. RAJAH (king). i've already been headcanoning him as desi since the first time i played aa6. anyway shah rukh khan character vibes

(but then again amir khan has literally played an evil magician in a bollywood movie before, so he could pull it off too i think...)

hindi has informal ("tu"), medium ("tum") and formal ("aap") second-person pronouns. you could have SO MUCH FUN with those. franziska would call literally everyone "tu" to assert dominance while edgeworth would call literally everyone "aap" to keep them distant. siblings amirite

franziska referring to miles as "mera chhota bhai" is actually killing me oh my god. that's her chhota bhai you guys skjdhkjfhldjssdrgse

feenie calling dahlia "dollie" works really well because i have like seven relatives with the nickname "dollie" so i'm presuming it must be common

oh yes, and mumbai does occasionally get earthquakes so the DL-6 incident still makes sense

india also has an active space programme so the UR-1 incident does too

and there's a monsoon season with storms so the SL-9 incident does as well ahahhahahhaa this is sO GOOD (okay in all fairness the monsoon season is not in february, when the case takes place... whatever whatever it's FINE i can make it work somehow)

you can use three scripts for the one translation -- english romanisation (for NRIs like me who suck at hindi...), the devanagari script commonly used to write hindi, and the urdu script so that urdu speakers can play too (for the most part the languages are mutually intelligible, you wouldn't need to change the dialogue at all, only the writing system)

if anyone out there is better at hindi than i am and wants to make a fan translation please do, it would be so iconic

#since my grandparents have been here i've been thinking about this a lot #ace attorney #long post #random stuff #i'd try translating it myself but like i said‚ i suck at hindi #i can understand movies and stuff i just can't speak it #i'm way better at gujarati bc that's what we speak at home #uhh i think there were a few spoilers in here hang on-#aa6 spoilers #there we go

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chahaa-piun-ja · 2 years ago

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Everything Everywhere All At Once and Lage Raho Munnabhai have the same central thesis

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tfgadgets · 15 days ago

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Did you know Dia Mirza's eye swelled after following Vidya Balan's advice on sets of Parineeta? | Hindi Movie News

Vidya Balan, who is currently busy with the promotions of her upcoming film ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’, recently received praises from Shabana Azmi and Dia Mirza. In addition to praising Vidya for her amazing journey, Dia expressed her happiness at having had a small role in it. Vidya then went on how the two had been close friends and collaborated in films like ‘Bobby Jasoos’, ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’,…

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#Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 #Dia Mirza #kartik aaryan #Parineeta #Shabana Azmi #Vidya Balan

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rentnhope · 2 months ago

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How to Turn Your Mumbai Bike Rental into a Bollywood Location-Spotting Adventure

Fellow traveler, Are you ready to add some Bollywood sparkle to your Mumbai trip? If you enjoy watching movies and discovering new locations on two wheels, you are in for a treat. Mumbai, the city of dreams, is more than simply bustling streets, excellent food, and beautiful beaches; it is also the home of Bollywood, India's film industry. What better way to discover it than to bike on rent in Mumbai and hit the road? In this blog, we'll show you how to transform your Mumbai bike rental into a thrilling Bollywood location-spotting experience. Ready? Let's get rolling.

Getting Started: Rent Your Ride

First and foremost, you need a set of wheels. Fortunately, getting a bike on rent in Mumbai is a breeze. Rentnhop has you covered, whether you want a fast scooter or a strong motorcycle. Simply choose your ride, pick it up, and you're ready to begin your journey. With your Mumbai bike rental arranged, the city is yours to discover.

The Ultimate Bollywood Itinerary

Mumbai is full of legendary Bollywood sites. Here's a route that takes you through some of the most well-known ones. Put on your helmet, start your engine, and hit the road.

1. Marine Drive – The Queen’s Necklace

Begin your adventure on Marine Drive, one of Mumbai's most scenic sites. This 3.6-kilometer-long boulevard along the Arabian Sea shore has been featured in numerous Bollywood films, including "Wake Up Sid," "Munnabhai MBBS," and "Dhoom." As you travel, consider the romance, drama, and action that this location has seen. It's an ideal place to take up the city's ambiance and begin your Bollywood trip.

2. Gateway of India – The Iconic Landmark

Next, head to the Gateway of India. This magnificent monument is significant not only historically, but also in terms of Bollywood. Movies like as "Chennai Express" and "Dhobi Ghat" have portrayed its beauty. Park your bike, take a walk around, and absorb the magnificence of this famous landmark. Don't forget to take some photos; this is a memory you'll want to treasure.

3. Colaba Causeway – Shopping and Cinema

A short ride from the Gateway of India will take you to the Colaba Causeway. This bustling boulevard is not just a shopping hotspot, but also a favorite Bollywood filmmaking site. Scenes from films like as "Kaante" and "Ek Tha Tiger" were shot here. While you're here, why not do some shopping? You might even find a keepsake to remind you of your Bollywood journey.

4. CST (Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus) – A Victorian Marvel

Ride from Colaba to CST, one of the world's most gorgeous railway stations. Its Victorian Gothic architecture is breathtaking, and it's no surprise that Bollywood loves it. Films such as "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Ra. One" have leveraged CST's dramatic background. Walk around, admire the architectural splendor, and picture the movie sequences that were filmed here.

5. Bandra Bandstand – The Celebrity Hub

No Bollywood trip is complete without a stop at Bandra Bandstand. Some of Bollywood's biggest stars call this location home. As you ride along the Bandstand Promenade, you'll pass Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan's bungalows. This location has also appeared in films like "Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa" and "Salaam Namaste." It's a terrific area to relax, take in the sea view, and maybe even glimpse a celebrity or two.

6. Mount Mary Church – A Slice of Serenity

The Mount Mary Church is a must-see in Bandra. This lovely cathedral has been as a scene for several Bollywood films, including "Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na." The tranquil ambiance here provides a welcome respite from the rush and bustle of the metropolis. Park your bike, light a candle, and take in the peacefulness.

7. Film City – The Heart of Bollywood

End your Bollywood location-spotting adventure at Goregaon's Film City. Although you may require prior permission to enter, it is worth the effort. This huge complex has multiple studios where the magic of Bollywood is brought to life. From legendary sets to live shootings, Film City allows you to see the true activity behind the scenes.

Tips for a Smooth Ride

- Plan Your Route: Mumbai traffic can be unpredictable. Plan your route and start early to avoid the rush.

- Stay Hydrated: The city can get hot, so keep yourself hydrated and take breaks when needed.

- Safety First: Always wear a helmet and follow traffic rules. Your safety is the most important thing.

- Local Delicacies: Don’t miss out on trying Mumbai’s street food. Vada pav, pav bhaji, and bhel puri are must-tries.

Conclusion

Turning your Mumbai bike rental into a Bollywood location-spotting adventure is an excellent way to see the city. From the majestic Marine Drive to the bustling Film City, each stop on this journey provides insight into the world of Bollywood. So what are you waiting for? Get a bike on rent in Mumbai, follow this route and experience the enchantment of Bollywood like never before. Lights, camera, action—your adventure awaits.

#bike on rent in Mumbai #Mumbai Bike rental #Bike Rental in Mumbai

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