When Munna Bhai MBBS Was Rejected: Vidhu Vinod Chopra Recalls Early Struggles

Veteran filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra recently opened up about the early struggle he faced while producing Munna Bhai MBBS (2003). Speaking on the latest episode of Creator x Creator on SCREEN, Chopra revealed that the now-iconic film almost didn’t get released in many parts of India, especially the South, due to its heavy use of “Bambaiya” slang — the colloquial street language of Mumbai. Chopra shared how distributors from South India simply didn’t believe the film would work. One of them, who had initially agreed to buy the film for Rs.11 lakh, backed out after watching it. “He told me it won’t even run for a day. He felt audiences outside Mumbai wouldn’t understand the language,” said Chopra.

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A Risky Release Strategy That Clicked

Despite the rejection, Chopra managed to get a single morning show for the film in Chennai through his friends Shyam and Bala Shroff, who owned a cinema. “I sold one print for Rs.5 lakh. That one centre eventually did over ₹1 crore in business,” Chopra revealed. The movie had empty theatres during its initial days. But strong word-of-mouth changed the tide. “Nobody came on day one or two. But when you do good work, people discover it,” he added. He compared this slow but steady rise to his more recent directorial, 12th Fail.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Faith in Content Over Marketing

The filmmaker highlighted his belief in authentic storytelling over aggressive marketing. He clarified, “I’m not anti-marketing. I just believe if the film is good, people will come.” This philosophy proved successful again with 12th Fail (2023), which opened with just ₹10–30 lakh but ran for seven months in theatres — a rare feat in today’s OTT-driven world. The Vikrant Massey-starrer, produced by Chopra’s VVC Films, collected Rs.56.38 crore at the Indian box office. A behind-the-scenes documentary Zero Se Restart, based on its making, is now available on Amazon Prime Video. Also Read: Ullu, ALTT Among 25 OTT Platforms Banned for Vulgar Content