Sanjay Dutt's Munnabhai MBBS was inspired by Anil Kapoor's character from Tezaab
Hindustan TimesAnil Kapoor has revealed that Sanjay Dutt’s iconic character in Munnabhai MBBS was inspired by one his early, popular roles. In an interview, he said that his character Munna from the 1988 film Tezaab was the inspiration behind Sanjay’s Munnabhai. Tezaab, which also starred Madhuri Dixit and Chunky Panday, saw Anil play a police cadet-turned-gangster who goes by the name of Munna and is referred to as Munna bhai by other thugs. He then elaborated about Munna and said, “Us par films ban gayi, itna kirdaar famous ho gaya ki uska naam bhi un logon ne Munna Bhai rakha.. Rajkumar Hirani said that inspired by that name, I started writing that film.” The name Munna Bhai did become a popular one for Bollywood’s gundas through the 90s with it being used in several films, most notably for Aamir Khan’s character in Rangeela.