Rajkumar Hirani's Birthday Special: From Munna Bhai MBBS to Sanju, Ranking All The Director's Movies From Worst to Best

In this crazy game called the box office, it is hard for a director to have a cent per cent success in his filmography. Then what is it about Rajkumar Hirani who makes churning out blockbusters back-to-back look so immaculately easy? Easily the pride of Vidhu Vinod Chopra Films, Hirani has never failed to deliver a hit in his entire career. Not just a hit, but all of them turned out to be mammoth successes. And to think, there was a time when Rajkumar Hirani really wanted to make a career in film-editing! Aamir Khan, Rajkumar Hirani, Aanand L Rai and Others Meet PM Modi But NOT to Discuss About #MeToo Movement.

Starting off as an ad-film-maker, Hirani wanted to try his luck in films. It was Chopra who gave that big opportunity, first as an editor for Mission Kashmir, and then producing Hirani's first directorial, Munna Bhai MBBS in 2003. The rest, as they say, is glorious history. He has only directed five films and zero failures. Three of his films, 3 Idiots, PK and Sanju, are already a part of Bollywood's all-time blockbusters. But box office success and the money grosses don't exactly determine a good movie these days, do they (looking at you, Dhoom 3!)? Rajkumar Hirani to Step Into Subhash Kapoor’s Shoes for Aamir Khan’s Mogul?

So in this special feature, I looked at all the films that Hirani has directed till now and ranked them from Worst to the Best, purely based on their content. So here's our ranking!

PK

PK may have earned big bucks thanks to the Aamir Khan-Hirani combines box office power. However, when it comes to original content, the movie suffers big time in that department. Sure, the idea of having an alien trying to grasp the strange way how our religions work is a great one. But in PK, the narrative is tackled in a very haphazard manner with some illogical scenes and an over-the-top climax. It also doesn't help that OMG: Oh My God!, that came out a few months back, tackled a similar theme in a much better way.

Sanju

To give credit where it's due, Sanju is well-directed by Hirani, with Ranbir Kapoor giving a fine performance. Hirani, along with Abhijat Joshi, does give an entertaining spin to a dark tale, that successfully manages to win our the audience's hearts. However, Sanju fails to acquit itself of being a white-washing project for its subject, Sanjay Dutt. As a biopic, it glosses over some of the controversial episodes in Dutt's life, ignores many patchy areas of his personal life and portrays him as a victim of circumstances. Is Sanju the highest grossing movie of 2018? Yes. Is it the best film of the year? Not even close!

Munna Bhai MBBS

The one where it all began! Though inspired by the late Robin Williams' Patch Adams, Munna Bhai MBBS has made an identity of its own, cleverly using Sanjay Dutt's now-stereotyped gangster persona and Hirani's understanding of what endears to the audience and what makes them laugh. Though the making is nothing to crow about, Munna Bhai MBBS is highly entertaining throughout and displays the comic brilliance of Dutt, Boman Irani and Arshad Warsi. Also remembered for giving us unforgettable catchphrases like 'Mamu' and 'Jadoo Ki Jhappi'.

3 Idiots

Loosely inspired by controversial author Chetan Bhagat's Five Point Someone, 3 Idiots manages to deliver a barrel of laughs, every time it comes up on TV. The movie deserves some criticism on how it makes jokes on rapes and its melodramatic depiction of student suicides (one suicide and one nearly successful attempt and yet Rastogi still remains the Dean). However, it makes up for that with some thoughtful humour, a mesmerising central mystery and Aamir Khan's youthful performance. And of course, for the guilty laughs, Chatur extracts from his botched-up speech!

Lage Raho Munna Bhai

The rare case when the sequel manages to better its predecessor. Lage Roho Munna Bhai is not only a highly entertaining film, but also successfully manages to celebrate Gandhian values and introduce them to the generation next. And to think, the protagonist of the movie happened to be a gangster! Munna and Circuit jodi is terrific as always, perhaps better here, as Circuit gets more involved in the main premise. Even the female lead, Vidya Balan, gets a lot more to do, rectifying one of the few faults that its predecessor owned. The supporting cast is also top-notch, with Boman Irani in fine form as the wily builder and a surprise cameo by Abhishek Bachchan towards the end is an icing on the cake.

And yeah, dear Mr Hirani, Many Many Happy Returns of the Day! Please continue to deliver more blockbusters, albeit with less white-washing!

(The opinions expressed in the above article are of the author and do not reflect the stand or position of LatestLY.)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 20, 2018 09:30 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).