'Lage Raho' inspires Indians in Dubai

Dubai -- Many Indians living in this Gulf city marked Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary this year by watching "Lage Raho Munnabhai" - the Bollywood blockbuster that popularised Gandhian ideals.

The film is still running houseful in all movie theatres here and has made 'Gandhigiri', an expression coined by the film, the new mantra, Khaleej Times reported.

"This time Gandhi Jayanti was far from being a low key affair. On Oct 1, I heard a special programme on a local FM radio station dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi. But the interesting thing was that the Radio Jockey was imitating a character shown in the film and many songs from the film were played," said Manish Sinha, an employee with a Dubai-based bank.

He added: "We booked six tickets for the show at the Cine Grand. We celebrated Gandhi Jayanti watching the movie and reliving Gandhi's values in a different way altogether."

Said Samir Basu, another Dubai resident: "I wanted my children to see this movie and Oct 2 was the best day for this."