Paresh Rawal reveals he rejected Munna Bhai MBBS role due to Vidhu Vinod Chopra's arrogance: 'He started ignoring the...'

Aamir Khan and Rajkumar Hirani’s PK is one of the most celebrated Bollywood films. The satirical dramedy featured Aamir as an alien and spoke about the complexities of religion, caste, and societal norms in India.

However, a few years before the release of PK, Umesh Shukla’s OMG featuring Paresh Rawal and Akshay Kumar dealt with almost the same subject. It was interestingly adapted from the popular Gujarati play Kanji Virudh Kanji.

Paresh recently revealed the fascinating connection that how Rajkumar Hirani and his co-writer Abhijat Joshi were frequent attendees of the play when PK was conceptualized.

“It was around the time PK was happening. Saumya Joshi, the brilliant Gujarati writer, would often be accompanied by his brother Abhijat and Raju Hirani. They attended almost every show," shared Paresh while talking to The Lallantop.

He shared that the team kept updating the play with fresh dialogues and improvisations, prompting PK makers to stay updated. “Any new dialogue, they would come and check. Both are very good people, despite staying with Vidhu Vinod Chopra for so long," Paresh said with an amusing smile.

Paresh also shared his strained equation with Vidhu Vinod Chopra, which also made him reject Munna Bhai MBBS ’ role of Dr Asthana (later played by Boman Irani) due to the producer’s arrogance.

“He started ignoring the people he began his career with after achieving success," Paresh shared, adding, “I was supposed to do Munna Bhai. We were discussing remuneration. In my mind, I wanted ₹15 lakh, and coincidentally, Vidhu offered exactly that. But the way he said, ‘I’ll give you ₹15 lakh’ — with arrogance — irked me. So, out of principle, I demanded ₹50 lakh and refused to back down."

Interestingly, he played the same role, in the official Telugu remake Shankar Dada MBBS, which featured Chiranjeevi in a lead role.

“It was never about the money — it was about the approach," Paresh said. “Artistes are built differently. If you place a hand on my shoulder and ask nicely, I would do a film even for ₹1. But if you throw attitude, I won’t work even for crores," he added.

Paresh Rawal will be next seen in Thama, Bhoot Bangla and Hera Pheri 3.