Members of the IIT Guwahati design team during a demo ride

Guwahati, Aug. 21: Coming soon to a theatre near you: Munnabhai and Circuit, riding on a “bicycle” with a Guwahati connection.

This new-age bicycle has been designed by a techno wizard of IIT, Guwahati.

The third instalment of the highly successful Munnabhai movie series — which might be slightly delayed, thanks to Sanjay Dutt’s imprisonment — will not have the motorcycle with the side-car, but a bicycle with a sidecar instead.

The film’s producers have already asked the IIT Guwahati designer, Amarendra Kumar Das, for four of the new-age bicycles. “Some members of the Munnabhai production team saw a model of the innovative product during an exhibition at IIT, Mumbai in December, and wanted to buy one right away,” Das said.

A source in producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s office in Mumbai confirmed: “Yes, we have decided to use the bicycle instead of the scooter in the third part.”

Both the Munnabhai movies — Munnabhai MBBS and Lage Raho Munnabhai — featured the mobike with the sidecar, riding on which Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi zoomed straight into the hearts of cine-goers.

Producer Chopra’s plans to start shooting for the third part was delayed after Sanjay Dutt was sentenced to a jail term in the Mumbai blasts case. Though the Supreme Court yesterday granted interim bail to Dutt, the dates of the film will depend on how the case progresses.

Though details of the next film are not known yet, there is talk that the third instalment may see Munnabhai and Circuit in the US. However, it was not with Munnabhai in mind that Das designed the bicycle with the sidecar.

“The objective of designing a sidecar for a bicycle for use in India is to attach it to any such cycle and thereby bring down the cost of transportation. The sidecar will cost between Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,500, depending on the materials and facilities available,” said Das, who is an associate professor in the department of design as well as the head of the Centre for Mass Media Communication in IIT, Guwahati.

As another member of the design team pointed out, the sidecar was sturdy enough to carry the weight of an adult.

“This sidecar can be used for ferrying not just a child but even an adult as a passenger. It is a safe option. It can also be used for transporting various goods, such as agricultural items. Which is why it is intended primarily for rural areas. Its great advantage is that when not used for ferrying passengers or goods, the sidecar can be folded and kept alongside the bicycle. The rider can then move without the hassle of operating a tricycle, which is wider and broader,” he added.