By: Somesh Vasishth

Move over Mr. Robin Williams, our very own Patch Adams has arrived. Aur voh bhi, bole to ekdum jhakkas !!!

Murli Prasad Sharma aka Munnabhai (Sanjay Dutt) is everything but a doctor. Living in the bylanes of a 'dhobi ghat' in Mumbai, he runs a gang and specialises in booze, babes and settling disputes.

But deep down he has a heart of gold; after all he is a son of a morally upright man, Hari Prasad Sharma (Sunil Dutt), who believes that his 'doctor' son is running a charity hospital.

Nothing much bothers Munna, except Sharma senior's annual visit from the village. That is when Munna and his gang don white coats with stethoscopes and pretend to be diligent doctors.

This year on his visit, Hari Prasad runs into an old acquaintance, Dr Asthana (Boman Irani) who has a daughter called Chinkie (Gracy Singh). The two decide that their children, both doctors, would make a perfect match.

But Munna's clever charade falls apart when Dr Asthana reveals his true tapori identity to his friend.

Poor Hari Prasad is heart broken but apna Munnabhai bhi Alibagh se nahi aayela hai. He gets admission in a medical school and what follows is a laughing riot.

Now imagine Munnabhai getting ragged or his first day in the classroom. Hey... don't rush for the tickets yet, Abhi khatam nahi hua kya....

Munnabhai does a Patch Adams by introducing the concept of jadoo ki japphi to the terminally ill Zaheer (Jimmy Shergill) and amidst all the fun love bug bites him.

Debutant director, Rajkumar Hirani, does a commendable job while executing the unrealistic yet entertaining plot like Munnabhai M.B.B.S. The screenplay by Rajkumar Hirani, Lajan Joseph & Vidhu Vinod Chopra and dialogues by Abbas Tyrewala are the assets to the film. Hirani could have easily done away with the songs as they bog us down.

Bhaigiri just comes naturally to Sanjay as he enacts the tapori with a golden heart. In a small but well etched role Arshad Warsi, as Circuit, delivers an excellent performance. And so do Boman Irani and Gracy Singh.

Sunil Dutt is completely flawless and a pleasure to watch.

It's only after you see the film, you truly realise that 'The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.'

Abhi chal watak, bhai se milne ka nahi kya?