Arshad Warsi had a life that sounded almost like a movie script even before he stole people’s hearts by tickling their funny bones in the legendary character of Circuit in Munna Bhai MBBS.
Arshad Warsi’s father died of bone cancer when he was 18 years old. He also lost his mother two years later. He was in the tenth grade when he lost his parents’ property to the renters who lived there, and he was exposed to the harsh realities of life.
He had no choice but to drop out of school and begin working. He started working as a door-to-door salesperson selling cosmetics when he was 17 years old. But he soon discovered his passion for dancing. Few people know that Arshad Warsi worked as a choreographer before pursuing a career in film. His first choice was not acting.
He created his own dance school after studying the skill of dancing and winning numerous competitions and championships, where he met his wife Maria Goretti. His first foray into Bollywood was choreographing the title tune for Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, a film starring Anil Kapoor and Sridevi. Jaya Bachchan noticed him and offered him a role in Tere Mere Sapne. As a result, his acting career began in the city of dreams.
Arshad Warsi has seen numerous ups and downs in his career spanning more than two decades, including friends turning rivals, as well as the dark and selfish side of the profession.
Even after showing his mettle as an actor, Circuit had no employment for eight months after Munnabhai, the film that made Circuit a household name.
“No one offered me a role in a film. So I was wondering why I don’t have a movie in the works if people appreciated my work. I asked Raju Hirani if he thought I had done a good job. I was amazing, he said. How come I didn’t have a film in my hands,” he said to PTI.
Despite his outstanding acting abilities, he was usually cast as the supporting actor. Perhaps because the industry at the time still felt that to play the leading role, one needed a flawless physique and a “hero-like face,” which no one has been able to define till today. It took a long time for actors like Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Rajkummar Rao, Irrfan Khan, and Manoj Bajpayee to finally establish their own league in the industry.
Arshad Warsi even took on parts that no one else was interested in. Did you know that he wasn’t Jolly LLB’s first choice? Shah Rukh Khan was the first to be offered the film. Subhash Kapoor offered the role to Arshad Warsi when the superstar declined, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Jolly LLB was a one-of-a-kind Bollywood production. It was a lively satirical take on India’s court system that practically everyone who saw it enjoyed.
But what occurred following Jolly LLB’s huge success? The filmmakers decided to develop a sequel, and this time they wanted to cast a huge name in the starring role instead of Arshad Warsi.
Following the success of Jolly LLB, Arshad Warsi was cast in Jolly LLB 2, but he was quickly replaced by Akshay Kumar. Of course, the man addressed his dissatisfaction with the situation without fear.
