No tension, I'm here!
Murali Prasad Sharma (Sanjay Dutt), a.k.a. Munna bhai, is a small-time goon in Mumbai ('bhai', literally 'brother', being a common term for hoodlums) with an unusual problem: his parents back home believe that he is a doctor. For some time now, he has been solving this problem unusually - whenever his parents come to visit, his base turns into a fake hospital, complete with his best friend Circuit (Arshad Warsi) as a fellow doctor and fellow hoodlums as fake patients. This facade falls apart, however, when Munna's father tries to betrothe Munna to the daughter of his friend, Dr. Jagdish Chandra "J.C." Asthana (Boman Irani). When Asthana finds out about Munna's lie, he belittles and humiliates them all; heartbroken and shocked, the parents return to their village.In despair, Munna decides the only way to redeem himself and avenge himself on Asthana is to go to medical school and become a doctor for real. He manages to get a place in the Imperial Institute of Medical Studies, only to find that the dean of the institute is Dr. Asthana himself. Munna and Asthana clash, not just for the obvious reasons, but also because of Munna's unorthodox method of treatment, emphasising compassion and a human connection as opposed to Asthana's more orthodox and clinical approach. Complicating things further is Munna's growing attraction to Dr. Suman (Gracy Singh), a fellow doctor.
Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. is the 2003 debut of Rajkumar Hirani, who would later become famous for 3 Idiots and PK. Originally announced to limited buzz, it made a star of its director and revitalized the career of its leading man. It is still considered one of the most memorable comedies of the 2000s.
Spawned a Negative Continuity sequel, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, in 2006.
Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. provide examples of the following tropes:
- Artistic License – Gun Safety: Zigzagged. Circuit fires his gun willy-nilly at the start while chasing the debtor, and when Munna admonishes him for it later, says that the gun was loaded with blanks ("If it would hit anyone, it'd just be a sting!"). However, later, when threatening the defaulting debtor, he takes his still-loaded-with-blanks gun, and points at his head, saying "from this range, even a blank can mess you up".
- Chekhov's Gun: Carrom. Rustam's father is shown to be a casual expert in the game, with his motto of "Carrom ramwanu, juice piwanu, majjani life!" ("Play carrom, drink juice, enjoy life!"). Munna and gang use this to get him out of his hospital bed after his fall, when he manages to get out of bed, and use his Improbable Aiming Skills (especially given his circumstances) to win the match, after which he drinks his juice for the first time in days.
- Cuddle Bug: Munna, of all people. He credits his mother with his belief in the power of the "jaadu ki jhappi" (magical hug), and uses it on several patients to help them feel better.
- Kindhearted Simpleton: Munna. Despite the gangster exterior, the guy mostly just seems to live the life of a hood more than engage in significant villainy. As for being a simpleton, well, it takes him the whole movie to realise that Dr. Suman and Chinki are the same person. In a medical environment where everyone wears name tags.
- Mirthless Laughter: Dr. Asthana, sometimes extending into Laughing Mad. His "laughter therapy" seems to kick in whenever he is angry, and Munna's ideology gaining popularity in the institute leads to many cases of an absolutely furious Asthana laughing his head off.
- Mistaken Identity: Munna knows that he and Asthana's daughter, who he only remembers by her nickname "Chinki", played together as children, but hasn't seen her for years and has no idea what she looks like. This turns out to be Suman herself, though she is antipathetic towards Munna at the start of the movie, having been told by her father about his lie and him being a gangster. She actually pranks him with this early on, having a friend of hers pose as "Chinki" and put on a Hard-Drinking Party Girl persona to bamboozle Munna. She finally reveals this to Munna right at the end of the movie.
- Neighbourhood-Friendly Gangsters: Zigzagged with Munna and Circuit's gang. Their most "gangster" act seems to be a bit of intimidation to get a guy to pay his loan back, but they do get Rustam to write the medical school entrance exam in Munna's place (which is Played for Laughs).
- Your Days Are Numbered: One of Suman's patients, a young man named Zaheer Ali, has been diagnosed with stomach cancer. Unsurprisingly, Zaheer takes this news terribly – most notably, he is extremely bitter about "having done everything right", not even having been with a woman, and yet having barely any life left. To cheer him up, Munna brings a stripper into his room, and he later talks about the two of them having gone out together. Zaheer witnesses the results of several of Munna's methods, including with Rustom's father, and comes to regard Munna as "divine". During the preparation for Asthana's test, Zaheer's health suddenly worsens and he calls for Munna, believing that Munna is literally God and can save him, and he dies in Munna's arms. This shakes Munna to his core, making him believe that he let Zaheer die despite his trust in him; this is implied to be the primary reason why he confesses the truth about his entrance and leaves the institute.
