Not Munna Bhai, Sanjay Dutt was locked for THIS role first in Munna Bhai MBBS! Deets inside

The recent revelations by filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani about Munna Bhai 3 have streamed excitement among all. While Hirani admitted working on Munna Bhai 3 and having over five unfinished scripts for the same, Sanjay Dutt is waiting eagerly to reprise his iconic role of Munna Bhai. Fans are well aware that before locking Sanju as the lead in 2003's Munna Bhai MBBS, Hirani had approached Shah Rukh Khan. But, did you know that if not Munna Bhai, Sanju could have landed in another role?

Fans are well aware of the significance of Munna Bhai MBBS in Sanju's career. Written and directed by Hirani, the movie significantly altered the public perception of Sanju as he was involved in several legal issues, including a tough-guy image before the movie. The movie's success helped to shift the narrative surrounding Sanju Baba and showcased his versatility as an actor. The movie presented him as an actor capable of bringing depth and emotion to his roles.

While it is well known that SRK was Hirani's first choice for Munna Bhai and Makrand Deshpande was locked for Circuit, it has been recently revealed that Sanju was locked for another role in the movie.

Producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra recently revealed that Munna Bhai's role landed with Sanju after a big star backed out from the project. 

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During his conversation with Living Movies: Filmmaking and the Creative Life, at the ongoing International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa on Friday, Chopra revealed that initially Sanju was cast as Zaheer in the movie. The role was ultimately played by Jimmy Shergill.

Sanjay Dutt with Jimmy Shergill in Munna Bhai MBBS

Chopra also said that Sanju didn't read the script of Munna Bhai MBBS even after he was told that he was playing the lead role.

Chopra said, “When Sanjay came, I said ‘Tu Munna Bhai kar raha hai (You are playing Munna Bhai), the main character’. He was like, ‘Aap jo kahoge vo kar lunga‘ (I’ll do whatever you say), he wasn’t even particular about any character. He doesn’t even read the script no matter how hard we try. I gave Sanju the script to read, he came after one and a half hours and said, ‘Kamaal ka script hai’, he didn’t even read a single page.”

Well, this was how Sanju played the iconic role and the rest is history. Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi's iconic roles of Murli Prasad Sharma aka Munna Bhai and Circuit from the comedy franchise Munna Bhai are among the most beloved on-screen characters. Now, all eyes are on the updates of Munna Bhai 3.

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