Yatin Karyekar Munna Bhai explains how he landed the memorable role of Anand Banerjee popularly known as Anand Bhai in MBBS. Talking about the casting process, the actor revealed that he was initially offered a completely different role and even turned it down before convincing the filmmaker. Rajkumar Hirini to be considered a largely silent cancer patient.
“There are only three roles in your film worth playing”
Recalling his long relationship with Hirani, Yatin said they knew each other from the filmmaker’s advertising days, and had worked together on several commercials and corporate films.One day, he got a call from Hirani’s office asking him to audition for a role. Surprised by the request, Yatin recalled asking why an audition was necessary when he knew the director well.When he arrived, he was handed sheets with characters labeled Doctor 1, Doctor 2, Munna and Watchman. Curious about the project, he tried to learn more about the story.As the details of the script from Hirani’s partners gradually came together, he realized that the film was something special.“I was offered the role of one of the doctors who trains Munna before the exam. But after understanding the story, I told Suma, ‘I don’t want to do this role’. I returned the papers,” he recalled in an interview with India Now and How.Later, he met Hirani in the parking lot and candidly explained his decision.“He asked, ‘Why? You’re not going to work on my film?’ I replied, ‘There are only three roles in this film worth doing for me. One you already gave him Sanjay Dutt. The second you gave him Boman Irani. And the third is Anand Bhai'”.
“That’s exactly the challenge”
According to Yatin, Hirani’s immediate response was that Anand Bhai hardly had an interview. At the time, the character’s emotional monologue towards the end of the film wasn’t even written.Yatin, however, saw this as an opportunity.“I told Raju, ‘That’s the challenge. You’re acting on me without talking. That’s your magic, and I want you to do that magic with me.'”The filmmaker reportedly looked at her for a few moments before asking her to audition for the role.
Rajkumar Hirani personally attended only one audition
The actor revealed that the audition itself was very simple.“I had to sit there. Do almost nothing. Just look. It was all about playing with the camera.”As she looked into the camera, a tear rolled down her face.“The moment the tear appeared, Raju yelled, ‘Cut it! OK, you’re playing the part. But you’re fat. Lose weight’.”When Yatin asked how much weight he should lose, Hirani allegedly told him to lose eight to ten kilos. The actress ended up losing 12 pounds for the role.Later he discovered something even more surprising.“Later, I discovered that mine was also the only audition attended by Rajkumar Hirani personally.”
Yatin thought the scene would “drag” the film
Yatin also shared how Anand Bhai’s iconic closing monologue came about.While shooting in Pune, Hirani approached him one day and informed him that he had written a new scene for Anand Bhai.“He said, ‘At the end of the film, after the hero and heroine meet, Anand Bhai will narrate a story’.”Far from being excited, Yatin was skeptical.“My immediate reaction was, ‘Raju, the film is going to drag! The hero and heroine have already met. Why would anyone sit through another scene?'”
“We are giving voice to the unspoken”
The actor then said that Hirani explained the importance of the scene in just one line.“He said, ‘If Anand Bhai doesn’t tell that story, the audience will never hear Anand Bhai’s voice in the entire film.’The reason clicked immediately.“Then Raju himself answered the question before I could. He said, ‘We are giving voice to the unspoken.'”For Yatin, that line encapsulated the brilliance of Hirani’s storytelling and explained why Anand Bhai’s final speech became one of the film’s most moving moments.“One sentence explained the whole purpose of the scene. And that’s why that moment became so powerful. Anand Bhai barely speaks throughout the film, but finally, he finally gets a voice, and through it, he manages to express everything the film wanted to say,” he concluded.
