As Welcome completes 15 years ,Anil Kapoor’s Majnubhai remains a favorite

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The Anil Kapoor-led Welcome did invite high levels of serotonin when it was released in Christmas week 2007, and has kept us laughing since. Even after 15 years, the film has the same impact on viewers. The meme-making community’s creative take on Majnubhai has left us in splits in this phase.

Anil shared why Majnu is his favorite character too, while expressing gratitude for the love he and his role have received non-stop for 15 years. “Majnubhai’s character was indeed a fun one to portray. I didn’t feel like I was acting. It came to me naturally, and with Anees-sir’s writing and direction and Nana Patekar being a perfect co-star as Udaybhai, it made things even easier and lots of fun.”

Adds Anil, “I see so many recreations on social media of his dialogues and it is amazing how relatable he still is even to Gen-Z. The character is most iconic and will instantly lift your mood with his dialogues and swag. The on-set memories with Nana, Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal and Katrina Kaif will stay on. We used to laugh so much off-camera after the final take. It was a wonderful film, character and experience, and I am so grateful for this ever- growing love for him.”

The fandom for Majnubhai is so crazy that coffee mugs, pillow covers and even T-shirts bearing the character became audiences’ top picks. Vicky Kaushal recreated his famous painting on social media, which gained instant popularity. Kriti Sanon too gained eyeballs for wearing a dress that had Majnubhai’s painting on it. Majnubhai, clearly, is no longer just a character, but an emotion that will always stay with us.

Welcome, the cult rom-com, released on December 21, 2007. The film was directed by Anees Bazmee, and Mallika Sherawat, Feroz Khan and Suniel Shetty (in a cameo) starred in the Firoz Nadiadwala-produced super-hit. Himesh Reshammiya, Anand Raaj Anand and Sajid-Wajid scored the music.

The film clashed with Aamir Khan’s Taare Zameen Par, which also did very well at the box-office.