Vidhu Vinod Chopra recalls Sanjay Dutt’s ‘Munna Bhai MBBS’ opened to empty theaters

‘Munna Bhai MBBS’, which later became a landmark film in Indian cinema, initially had a challenging start. Despite eventually becoming a major hit, the film opened to empty theaters on December 19, causing concern among its makers. Director Rajkumar Hirani was disheartened, fearing a financial loss. However, producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra remained optimistic and encouraged Hirani to continue making films, even providing a small sum to fund his next project. At an event at the Kellogg School of Management, Hirani revealed that a Tamil Nadu distributor initially agreed to release the film but backed out after seeing it, doubting its appeal. Chopra then secured a single show in a Tamil Nadu theater, which surprisingly earned Rs 1.67 crore.