- By Swati Singh
- Wed, 05 Aug 2026 04:53 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Munna Bhai Chale America was officially shelved because its storyline became too similar to Shah Rukh Khan's 2010 film, My Name Is Khan.
The major reason was narrative overlap. The core plot of Munna Bhai Chale America involved Munna and Circuit traveling to the United States to meet the US President. This was similar to Shah Rukh Khan's character in My Name Is Khan.
Director Rajkumar Hirani is known for avoiding similarities with existing films. Rather than making a project that felt repetitive, he chose to shelve the idea altogether.
According to a report in The Times of India, the popular announcement teaser featuring Munna and Circuit learning English was filmed at a very early stage, even before the script was finalised. Despite multiple attempts, the makers could not finalise a screenplay that lived up to their expectations, and the project was eventually shelved.
Munna Bhai MBBS Franchise not shelved yet
Though Munna Bhai Chale America is permanently dead, the franchise itself is not. Rajkumar Hirani confirmed that a new Munna Bhai film is actively in development. The creative team currently has three alternative scripts ready, which they are fine-tuning to find the perfect final piece to complete the story.
In a conversation with NDTV, Hirani said, "That trailer was made very early. We were still writing. That time Vinod was making a film so he wanted to make the trailer of the forthcoming film. We were still scripting, so we made the trailer saying Munna and Circuit will be going to America. So what could they do? So they learn English. We made something on that. But that script we could never finish. We are still working on some scripts."
Although the long-awaited America chapter has been shelved for good, fans can still look forward to Munna and Circuit returning with a fresh story in the future.