Yatin Karyekar has opened up about how he landed the memorable role of Anand Banerjee, popularly known as Anand Bhai, in Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.. Speaking about the casting process, the actor revealed that he was initially offered a completely different role and even turned it down before convincing filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani to cast him as the largely silent cancer patient.
‘There are only three roles in your film worth doing’
Recalling his long association with Hirani, Yatin said they had known each other from the filmmaker’s advertising days and had worked together on several ad and corporate films.One day, he received a call from Hirani’s office asking him to audition for a role. Surprised by the request, Yatin remembered asking why an audition was necessary when the director already knew him well.When he arrived, he was handed pages featuring characters labelled Doctor 1, Doctor 2, Munna and Watchman. Curious about the project, he tried to learn more about the story.As he gradually pieced together details of the script from Hirani’s associates, he realized the film was something special.“They had offered me the role of one of the doctors coaching Munna before the exam. But after understanding the story, I told Suma, ‘I don’t want to do this role.’ I handed back the papers,” he recalled during his interview with India Now and How.Later, he met Hirani in the parking lot and candidly explained his decision.“He asked, ‘Why? You won’t work in my film?’ I replied, ‘There are only three roles in this film worth doing for me. One you’ve already given to Sanjay Dutt. The second you’ve given to Boman Irani. And the third is Anand Bhai.'”
‘That’s exactly the challenge’
According to Yatin, Hirani’s immediate response was that Anand Bhai barely had any dialogues. At the time, the character’s emotional monologue towards the end of the film had not even been written.Yatin, however, saw that as an opportunity.“I told Raju, ‘That’s exactly the challenge. You make me act without dialogues. That’s your magic, and I want you to do that magic with me.'”The filmmaker reportedly looked at him for a few moments before asking him to audition for the role.
Rajkumar Hirani personally attended only one audition
The actor revealed that the audition itself was remarkably simple.“I just had to sit there. Do almost nothing. Just look. It was all about playing with the camera.”As he stared into the camera, a tear naturally rolled down his face.“The moment the tear appeared, Raju shouted, ‘Cut! Okay, you’re doing the role. But you’re fat. Lose weight.'”When Yatin asked how much weight he needed to shed, Hirani reportedly told him to lose eight to ten kilos. The actor eventually lost 12 kilos for the role.He later discovered something even more surprising.“Afterwards, I also discovered that mine was the only audition Rajkumar Hirani personally attended.”
The scene Yatin thought would ‘drag’ the film
Yatin also shared how Anand Bhai’s iconic closing monologue came into existence.While shooting in Pune, Hirani approached him one day and informed him that he had written a new scene specifically for Anand Bhai.“He said, ‘At the end of the film, after the hero and heroine reunite, Anand Bhai will tell a story.'”Far from being excited, Yatin was skeptical.“My immediate reaction was, ‘Raju, the film will drag! The hero and heroine have already met. Why would anyone sit through another scene?'”
‘We’re giving voice to the unspoken’
The actor said Hirani then explained the significance of the scene in a single line.“He said, ‘If Anand Bhai doesn’t tell that story, the audience will never hear Anand Bhai’s voice throughout the film.'”The reasoning instantly clicked.“Then Raju himself answered the question before I could. He said, ‘We’re 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 most moving moments in the film.“That one sentence explained the entire purpose of the scene. And that’s why that moment became so powerful. Anand Bhai barely speaks throughout the film, but at the end, he finally gets a voice—and through him, the film gets to express everything it wanted to say,” he concluded.
