If you see Arshad Warsi and Sunjay Dutt together in the two promos, chances are you might think they’re the one and the same project. The two actors in the Munna Bhai sequel, Sunjay and Arshad are seen whooping it up in a show of male camaraderie in Anthony Kaun Hai?.

Says director Raju Hirani, “I wouldn’t really like to say anything on this. To each his own I guess.” Hirani does admit there is some confusion in the viewers’ minds thanks to the two simultaneous promos. To make matters worse, Lage Raho Munna Bhai went through a title conflict, hence by the time its makers firmed up on a title the promos for Anthony Kaun Hai? had started and viewers mistook that to be the Munna Bhai sequel!

Arshad admits he was pulled up by the makers of Munna Bhai. “It’s only the media and Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s production office that keep getting these doubts. I don’t see why. In the Anthony… music video shot in Bangkok, Sanju and I are wearing suits. In Munna Bhai we’re in kurtas, gold chains…. Munna Bhai is a brand name. Sanju and I will be associated with it for all time. Does it mean we can’t do anything else together? We play totally different characters in the two films. I was shooting in Udaipur recently. The asked me about Munna Bhai and Anthony… separately. Even beggars on the road know the difference. There’s absolutely no confusion in the audiences’ minds. Even Sanju was wondering if we can never work together outside Munna Bhai.”

Though Sunjay only has a guest appearance Anthony Kaun Hai? was being promoted as a Sanju-Arshad flick. Explains Arshad, “We did a music video together which was supposed to play after the movie. The music company, T-Series, decided to play that video with Himesh Reshammiya in the promo. You know, when it’s the T-Series-Himesh Reshammiya combination nobody can stop them. As for Sanju, he isn’t doing just a guest appearance. He’s in the film throughout. My character narrates the story to him. But I’m the leading man of Anthony Kaun Hai?.”

To add to Munna Bhai’s woes, Anthony Kaun Hai? has released just a month before Lage Raho Munna Bhai. Arshad bristles. “Is it my fault that Munna Bhai took so long to be readied? We (Anthony…) tried to stay away from Munna Bhai as much as possible. I could’ve taken so much advantage of our winning combination. But I didn’t call Sanju for even one interview. All it would’ve taken was one call. Sanju is a sweetheart. He’d have gone all out to promote Anthony. My funda is simple. If a film gives me my due importance I’ll give back the same importance to the film. It’s like love. You give as much as much as you get.”

Arshad has the final word on the Munna Bhai-Anthony… race to the finish. “I play the leading man in Anthony… so it’s a very important film for me. As far as I see it, Lage Raho Munna Bhai stars Munna Bhai and Circuit. Anthony Kaun Hai? stars Sunjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi.” — SKJ