‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’, ‘Munjya’ and ‘Stree 2’ Lead the Comeback of Bollywood Laugh Riots

Comedy is one of the most beloved genres for common people around the globe. It can be easily understood—both figuratively and emotionally—by considering the humongous fan base garnered by sit-coms like Friends, Modern Family, The Office, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, and many more. Similarly, television shows like Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, Hum Paanch, Gutur Gu, F.I.R., Chidiya Ghar, and the long-running Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah have been much appreciated and enjoyed by the Indian audience. These shows have not only stood the test of time but also been able to create a space in the viewer’s life.

Even when not presented in its entirety, people still look out for cheerful and laughable moments in films of other genres, whether it happens to be action, romance, drama, or fantasy. It is mainly because of the universal presence comedy holds in human life and also the essence of it, which allows itself to blend with almost everything. However, the same accessibility is more like a double-edged sword, which can go both ways, either aiding the story with gentle, complementary laughable moments or sticking out as a sore thumb in the overall grand scheme of things. Unfortunately, or fortunately, this factor of subjectivity casts its shadow on every aspect related to art and creativity.

For the most part, in Hindi cinema, filmmakers and writers have used comedy as a tool that often runs parallel to the core conflict or in support of the lead characters. It can be noticed in roles played by popular comedy actors like Kader Khan, Johnny Lever, Rajpal Yadav, Johnny Walker, Govardhan Asrani, Jaaved Jaaferi, Sanjay Mishra, Paresh Rawal, and Satish Kaushik, to name a few. All of them are sort of asked to project their funny side of personality with a higher pitch to make it easy for the audience to comprehend and react. You can witness this pattern in movies like Chalte Chalte and Judaai, where the character arc of Johnny Lever and Paresh Rawal never crosses paths with the core plot or conflict of the movie. You look at the banter shared between Kader Khan and Anupam Kher in the film Sooryavansham and will observe a similar pattern. I wonder whether this can be a point of contention for even Rajpal Yadav’s character in the movie Bhool Bhulaiyaa.

Talking about Bollywood, it is necessary to mention the influence and prominence of two directors who, in their own way, mastered this genre and caught the attention of the audience—David Dhawan and Priyadarshan. Both the directors had a decade to themselves as they delivered a string of comedy movies, which are still re-visited and telecasted frequently on television. The era of the 1990s belonged to David Dhawan and his comedies, such as Raja Babu, Coolie No. 1, Judwaa, Hero No. 1, Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge, and many more. This decade is also widely remembered for the blockbuster collaboration between David Dhawan and Govinda, which is still revered by a large chunk of the audience.

With the beginning of a new century in the 2000s, there was a slight shift in audience and their preferences. This decade saw the rise of Priyadarshan in Bollywood with his comedy flicks like Hera Pheri, Phir Hera Pheri, Hungama, Hulchul, Chup Chup Ke, Bhagam Bhag, Malamaal Weekly, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, etc. These movies catered to the evolved sensibility of the audience, providing a new direction to situational ensemble comedies featuring a gush of stars enacting the most eccentric, heartwarming, and relatable characters.

While the David Dhawan movies continue to be a hit among the older generation, there are significant concerns raised by the newer generation regarding the problematic portrayal of several social themes and characters. It has been a factor that has caused a huge downslide for him and many of his movies in the recent past. On the other hand, Priyadarshan did make some good films like Billu, Khatta Meetha, and Bumm Bumm Bole in the early half of the 2010s. Sadly, they lacked the same wackiness and hysteria of his previous works and failed to pull the audience into the theatre.

In the 2010s decade, the genre of comedy diversified significantly. The early half of the decade saw creators like Rajkumar Hirani using humor to deliver larger social commentary in movies like 3 Idiots and PK. At the same time, Rohit Shetty was making those larger-than-life ensemble action comedies with a slight flavour of romance and family drama, such as the Golmaal series, Singham, Chennai Express, Bol Bachchan, and Dilwale, to mention a few. Alongside them, there was a particular kind of films made under the “Yash Raj Films” banner, which were a fusion of romance, comedy, and drama, like Band Baaja Baarat, Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, Shuddh Desi Romance, and Daawat-e-Ishq. This phase also witnessed some interesting, innovative experiments in the comedy genre with Delhi Belly and Go Goa Gone, which have become cult classics in their own right over the years.

In contrast to this period, the latter half of the 2010s decade was flooded with small-town social comedies, which brought several prevalent issues to the forefront. Movies like Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, Bareilly Ki Barfi, Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, Sui Dhaaga, Badhaai Ho, Dream Girl, Bala, Made in China, etc., emerged as box-office hits and received praise and applause from the critics and the audience. These movies made actors like Ayushmann Khurrana and Rajkumar Rao household names in India. It almost became a cheat code, which was further used till a point of saturation that people got tired of, and this subgenre today seems to be slightly fading away with the beginning of the 2020s decade.

In the last few years, comedy as a genre has been served majorly as horror comedies like Laxmii, Roohi, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, Bhediya, Bhoot Police, and Phone Bhoot. This subcategory has been massively rewarded when clicked with the masses but otherwise received a lukewarm response. Another fusion that has resulted in some great films is thrillers and dark comedies such as Ludo, Monica, O My Darling, and Lootcase. Even the long-disappear mainstream family romantic comedies have made a good comeback with Jugjugg Jeeyo, Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar, and Rocky aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani.

Unfortunately, the few attempts in between to create a knockout comedy such as Cirkus or Fukrey 3 did not quite hit the mark. Also, looking at how box-office records panned out, the pendulum and the wave tilted strongly on the side of big-scale action films in comparison to small-budget films. Despite social comedies like Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, OMG 2, and Dream Girl 3 emerging financially successful at the box office, they were overshadowed by the storming box-office collections and sheer mania created by Pathaan, Jawan, Gadar 2, and Animal in 2023. It built a scenario that amplified a loss of interest in releasing, watching, or creating comedies for the big screen as there was a lack of assurance around them.

To everyone’s surprise, this year has taken a straight 180-degree turn, with big-budget films failing to find their space and smaller comedies doing wonders both in terms of content and collection. This series of delightful surprises began with Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya, a quirky yet relevant science fiction romance comedy that truly caught people’s imagination with its take on future modern love. The writing was aided brilliantly by the camaraderie shared between the entire ensemble and the lead pair, Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon.

It was followed by the success of Kiran Rao’s 2nd directorial venture, Laapataa Ladies, an endearing yet poignant social comedy-drama that reflects upon the state of loss most women experience in rural India, where their lives are majorly restricted and tied to the uneven thread of marriage. Their sense of individuality and wish to fulfil dreams often goes for a toss while trying to align themselves with the expectations of society. In one of the many beautiful scenes from the movie, we find two women characters engaged in a conversation about how they got so busy fulfilling their respective roles as daughter-in-law and mother-in-law that they missed out on the opportunity to become each other’s friends.

The same month, Madgaon Express and Crew hit the theatres and grabbed everyone’s interest. As I sat in the theatre to watch both movies back-to-back, I thoroughly enjoyed what they had to offer, and so did the other members present in the theatre. The audience’s reaction to each joke and punchline was a reassurance that they were invested in the film. Especially with Madgaon Express, I really admire the world-building and set-up, which talks directly to every youth who sort of planned to go on a trip to Goa after watching Dil Chahta Hai. Director Kunal Khemu plays beautifully around this thought of “What if Dil Chahta Hai went wrong?” and convincingly balances out nostalgia with absurdity. While Madgaon Express was a well-rounded film that ticked almost every box, it was the performances of the lead cast in the form of Tabu, Kareena Kapoor Khan, and Kriti Sanon who did the heavy lifting in Crew, and kept the ship (or should I say Plane?) afloat for me. However, with the reception of both films in theatre and in general, I could foresee a tiny glimmer of hope where the glory of comedy was set to return and be reinvented for the time ahead of us.

Further, what has transpired is the unreal expansion of Maddock’s Supernatural Universe with the release of Munjya and Stree 2. Both of them have been showered with immense critical praise and emerged as massive box-office successes. In the truest sense, they have provided the spine to this horror-comedy universe, which was always intriguing for the audience but also a bit scattered. A major credit for shaping and bringing this universe together, I believe, goes to writer Niren Bhatt, who has written Stree 2, Munjya, and Bhediya.

In the coming years, horror-comedy seems poised to become a go-to genre on the big screen, especially with the immense success of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3. I’m eager to see how Maddock Films expands their cinematic universe with Thama, featuring Ayushmann Khurrana, Rashmika Mandanna, Paresh Rawal, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, set to release next Diwali. Speculations suggest that the climax of Stree might revolve around vampires, as hinted at in recent posts, alongside developments for Stree 2 and Bhediya 2. Reports indicate significant effort has gone into crafting the scripts for these sequels, keeping fans on edge. As a Bollywood enthusiast, I’m excited and optimistic about what’s ahead!