“There is certainly no script called Munnabhai Chale Dilli” – Subhash Kapoor

By Subhash K. Jha -

March 14, 2013 - 2:08 PM IST

“There is certainly no script called Munnabhai Chale Dilli” – Subhash Kapoor

While it is true that Vidhu Vinod Chopra has invited the Phas Gaya Re Obama director Subhash Kapoor to direct the next installment of the Munnabhai franchise, the stories that Kapoor would be helming a film entitled Munnabhai Chale Dilli are cut down by the director as being completely baseless and untrue.

The affable director whose new satire on the legal system Jolly LLB features Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani from the Munnabhai series, is amused by the way a story has been scripted for him to carry the franchise forward. "I've met the Munnabhai producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra. And I've agreed to make the next Munnabhai movie for his production company. But beyond that, there is no script and there is certainly no script called Munnabhai Chale Dilli."

Subhash feels this title to be the brainchild of some who have monitored the progress of the franchise and are aware that the next Munnabhai film to be directed by Rajkumar Hirani was to be title Munnbhai Chale Amrika until it was discovered that the plot was similar to Karan Johar's My Name Is Khan.

Chuckles Subhash Kapoor, "Someone must've decided to downsize Munnabhai's plans for the US to a visit to Delhi for me. The truth is, I haven't even thought of the script as yet. Right now my entire focus is on the release of my film Jolly LLB .After March 15, I'll think of how to take the franchise forward. Vinod Chopra and I met casually to discuss cinema for three days. It was only during the third meeting that he mentioned he'd like me on board to do the next Munnabhai film for his company. Initially I wasn't sure if I was up to the task. But now I feel I can pull it off."

Subhash agrees it's a huge responsibility. "The first two Munnabhai films left a deep impact on the audience. I've been given the responsibility of taking the series ahead. I can't afford to let down my producer Vinod Chopra or the Munnabhai director and writer Rajkumar Hirani and Abhijat Joshi." Hirani and Joshi would be on board for Subhash Kapoor's Munnabhai film.

Subhash feels Vinod Chopra selected him for making the next Munnabhai film on the basis of his satirical work so far. "He did see some of Phas Gaya Re Obama and my trailer of Jolly LLB. I don't know if that is what convinced him that I was the right person to direct the next Munnabhai film."

That Jolly LLB stars the Munnabhai duo of Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani is merely a coincidence. "I needed an actor who could play one of the most successful lawyers of the country and another actor to play the underdog who beats him in the courtroom. Boman and Arshad were my natural choices. It's a typical David & Goliath saga transposed into a courtroom. Though cheeky, it in no way belittles the legal system. Every lawyer in the country would smile after seeing the film."

Subhash feels courtroom dramas in our cinema are stereotyped. "They are structured the same way for decades. Even the judge says the same thing in all films. In Jolly LLB, the judge played by Saurabh Shukla makes a clean break from the norm."

Subhash agrees we need to laugh at the glaring anomalies in our socio-political system in order to survive. "Laughter is not the best medicine. It is the only method to combat what is becoming increasingly evident. That our bureaucracy and political system are on the verge of collapse."