If there is any one Indian filmmaker who has mastered the art of dealing with socially relevant subjects with tasteful comic relief, it has to be Rajkumar Hirani. His films have a special formula of taking audiences into a roller coaster ride of bone tickling humour, combined with heart melting issues which generally remain unaddressed.
Hirani began his career in the advertisement industry and he did fairly well as a copywriter. However, his heart resided in films and filmmaking. And so, he took a break from the world of advertisement, and focused on cinema. He joined director Vidhu Vinod Chopra and worked in promo and trailer edits. Finally, in 2000, Hirani got his first break as a film editor with Mission Kashmir.
Three years later, Hirani made his directorial debut with Munna Bhai MBBS and the rest is a history. On his 57th birthday, let’s take a look at his 5 major hits which changed the course of Bollywood cinema.
Munna Bhai MBBS
This film not only established Hirani as a convincing filmmaker but also revived Sanjay Dutt’s career as an actor. The film grossed Rs 50.5 crore and it marked the beginning of a brand—Munna Bhai. The phrase ‘jaadu ki jhhappi’ from the film is popular even after a decade.
Lage Raho Munna Bhai
The brand continued to flourish with another commercial and critical success. With the idea of ‘Gandhigiri’, the film became more than an entertainer—it inspired viewers to follow the principles of Mahatma Gandhi. When Munna Bhai, a local punk, left behind his anger and violence and took up to live a life of ahimsa (non-violence), it surely impacted a lot of young minds.
3 Idiots
With this film, Hirani discussed the loopholes in Indian education system and the kind of pressure inflicted on students of top engineering colleges. 3 idiots created a stir not just in India, but China as well. In India alone, the film earned close to Rs 203 crore.
PK
After Indian education system, Hirani worked for five years to dive into the topic of Indian religious beliefs, malpractices godmen or gurus, and the undying growth of superstitions. The film minted over 800 cr worldwide.
Sanju
This is a biopic based on the life of actor and his good friend Sanjay Dutt and discussed the latter’s addiction to drugs. As per a report by Moneycontrol, Sanju was not only the biggest non-Holiday opener of all time but also recorded the biggest opening weekend of all time in Bollywood.
Follow @News18Movies for more
Comments
0 comment