Nearly twenty years after Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. and Lage Raho Munna Bhai turned Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi into one of Bollywood’s most loved on-screen duos, fans are still eagerly awaiting a third chapter. Munna Bhai 3 has been stuck in development for a long time, with director Rajkumar Hirani insisting he won’t rush the film unless it truly matches the legacy the franchise has built. Now, Arshad Warsi has stirred up fresh buzz with an amusing new update on where things stand.
Speaking in an interview, Arshad Warsi jokingly claimed that Sanjay Dutt has put Rajkumar Hirani on gunpoint to get the third film made, going so far as to say Sanjay Dutt has essentially cornered the director into committing to it. He mentioned that Rajkumar Hirani even had to publicly reassure Sanjay Dutt on television that the film was indeed happening and joked about how everyone connected to the franchise is eager to see it made. Arshad Warsi added that he’s simply hoping and praying it comes together, noting that Rajkumar Hirani is genuinely putting in serious work on it.
During the same conversation, filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia, who was also present, asked Arshad Warsi how much of his iconic Circuit character was scripted versus improvised on set. Arshad explained that a significant portion of his dialogue in the first film was created spontaneously in the moment, with almost everything coming together improvisationally. By the time the second film was made, though, Rajkumar Hirani had grown so familiar with Arshad’s comic instincts that he could predict exactly what Arshad would say next. Arshad revealed that this creative freedom was something he’d specifically requested from Rajkumar Hirani early on, since the character allowed him to experiment and have fun in a way few roles do.
When Tigmanshu Dhulia brought up the memorable “stars” scene from the franchise and asked whether it was written or improvised, Arshad clarified that the scene itself was scripted but he added his own spontaneous, lighthearted touches to it, while the more meaningful and emotional lines were penned by Rajkumar Hirani himself.
On the work front, Arshad Warsi is gearing up for his next release, Ghamasaan, directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia and co-starring Pratik Gandhi, which premieres on an OTT platform on September 11.
