Arshad Warsi says Circuit’s role was ‘bad’, he was sure his ‘career would end’ after Munna Bhai: ‘Even Sanjay Dutt didn’t have a lot of confidence’

Actor Arshad Warsi's career attained new heights after he played Circuit in Munna Bhai MBBS, but for the longest time, he was sure that it would be the final film of his career.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | June 13, 2023 11:02 AM IST

3 min read

Arshad Warsi and Sanjay Dutt in a still from Munna Bhai MBBS.

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Actor Arshad Warsi recalled working on the blockbuster film Munna Bhai MBBS, and said that he was sure at the time that it would be the last film of his career. Arshad played the role of Munna Bhai’s henchman circuit in the film, and emerged as the breakout character. Not only did his career continue afterwards, it thrived.

But before he signed on, he was sure it would be a death knell for his career. Describing his role as ‘bad’, he revealed in an interview with Siddharth Kannan that even Makarand Deshpande had turned it down. He did the movie, he said, because he liked director Rajkumar Hirani as a person and a filmmaker.

Also read | Arshad Warsi: ‘I don’t think Munna Bhai part 3 will happen now, but I wish…’

He said, “I knew yeh film karne ke baad, meri zindagi barbaad hai (I thought my career would be over because of this film). Mujhe laga hogaya, this is the last film I’ll do. It was the role of a goon. Forget that, Makarand Deshpande said no to the film. He didn’t want to do that, it was that bad.”

He continued, “When you agree to a role, you only see what’s on paper. It’s only after the film comes out when you realise what it is, and what the impact has been. It was the role of a goon, who was among five other goons who were tagging along with the hero. I thought it would be the last film of my career… Even if the film became a hit, I’d get nothing, and if it flopped, I’d get nothing…. I don’t think even Sanju had a lot of confidence in the first film, it went against the grain of what was working at that time…”

Arshad added, “I liked Raju. He was a good man and a good director, and I liked the story. I liked the film. But I knew I wouldn’t get anything out of it. Do you ever remember goons in movies like this? Only the hero and the director benefit from these movies. I asked Raju to let me enjoy it, to let me enjoy my failure.”

Munna Bhai MBBS revived Sanjay Dutt’s career, and established Rajkumar Hirani as one of Bollywood’s biggest directors. The movie spawned a sequel titled Lage Raho Munna Bhai, which also emerged as a hit. Hirani later helmed a biopic on Sanjay Dutt’s life, titled Sanju, and will return with his new film Dunki later this year.

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