Munna Bhai falls in love with the voice of the Radio Jockey Jhanvi. He is finally given the chance to meet her when the radio station announces that in honour of Gandhi's birthday, it will be holding a trivia contest concerning the life and beliefs of Mahatma Gandhi.

With the help of his friend, Munna wins the contest and leads Jhanvi to believe that he is a Gandhi scholar. Jhanvi subsequently asks Munna to present a lecture on Gandhi. The only solution for Munna is to put himself through an intensive period of study in a library devoted to the life and works of Gandhi. It is during this period that Munna begins to see the image of Gandhi. Gandhi guides Munna, who starts to cultivate a new life based upon Gandhism, which he calls Gandhigir.

It's a fairly typical love story of a Bollywood comedy, which the world biggest film industry in Bombay is producing at a rate of three per day. But "Lage Raho Munna Bhai" (Carry on Munna Bhai), directed by Rajkumar Hirani, has provoked a Gandhi craze all over India and has also been financially successful overseas. It has made Gandhi, once again, the national icon of India, and generated increased interest in books about Gandhi, including Gandhi's own autobiography "My Experiments with Truth". Inspired by the movie, Indians are changing their lifestyle to reflect his philosophy of non-violent protest. People who organized rallies are handing out flowers to their adversaries in order to convey their message. Students are doing volunteer work, planting trees to conserve nature and foster public health. There are even plans to screen the movie in jails throughout the country.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (known as Mahatma Gandhi - Great Soul) lived from October 2nd, 1869 to january 30th, 1948 and was the major political and spiritual leader of the Indian independence movement.

Gandhi's first resistance through mass civil disobedience took place in the struggle for civil rights in South Africa. After his return to India, Gandhi protested against poverty and caste discrimination, and worked for the liberation of women, as well as political and economic independence from the British Crown. In 1942, Gandhi led poor Indian farmers through the famous non violent "Dandi March" against oppressive taxation. Gandhi was vehemently opposed to any partition of India, but finally gave his assent to avert a civil war between Hindu and Muslim. On January 30th, 1948, Gandhi was shot dead by a Hindu radical but his teachings went on to inspire future civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela.

"Lage Raho Munna Bhai" popularises the historical figure of Ghandi and his moral principles in a contemporary and colloquial language. The movie, which will most likely be nominated for an Oscar, has reawaken the concept of Gandhism under the new term Gandhigiri, which means solving problems with non-violence (Ahimsa), truth (Satya), unity (Ekta) and tolerance (Sahishnuta) rather than with violence. According to an article in "The Boston Globe" (October 13, 2006), the United States of America needs such a film to encourage people to take up Gandhigiri, "Kinggiri" or "Kennedygiri".

15.11.2006

Günther Rautz