Top 10 Comedy Films Made in Bollywood

Humor is one of the most traditional film genres, rooted in classical theater, making Bollywood lively and entertaining for the audience. Comedies like Slapstick, which frequently depends on visual descriptions like sight gags and pratfalls to be enjoyed without sound, were among the first silent films.

Highlighting the revolution of comedies in Bollywood, the genre held recognition and was appreciated in the 1920s, with accessible sound, dialogue, and funny background music. The acting, expression, and humorous dialogue were add-ons, making films fun and providing a break from the mundane things of regular beings.

Many people lead hectic lives and require downtime to recuperate. Thus, they turn to humorous stories as a means of escape from their busy lives. For instance, a stressed-out employee might feel better during and after seeing a comical film. Bollywood is considered quite a deal because it covers a variety of genres when it comes to movies. However, among these, comedy stands out a great deal in the whole industry. Read below to discover the top ten Bollywood comedy movies of all time.

Classic Laughs from the Golden Era

Film historians refer to the years following India’s independence, from the late 1940s to the early 1970s, as the Golden Age of Hindi cinema. This era was almost loved by all and known for clean comedy, melodious songs, and stellar casts.

Half-Ticket (19 October, 1962)

• Recorded IMBD Rating: 7.3/10
• Total Duration: 168 minutes only
• Cast: Kishore Kumar, Madhubala, Pran, Manorama, Helen, Arun Ghosh, Shammi, Tun Tun
• Director: Kalidas
• Recorded Budget: 0.35 Crore INR

Kishore Kumar, Madhubala, and Pran Saab feature in one of the greatest comedy films of the 1960s, Half Ticket. This movie has had critical as well as commercial success and has been deemed a cult classic since the 1960s. It’s one of Madhubala’s final films, and her last joint venture in the industry with her husband, Kishore Kumar, is Half Ticket. Since the time of its publication, it has gained cult status and been a very critical and commercial success in Bollywood history.

Padosan (29 November, 1968)

• Recorded IMDB rating: 8.1/10
• Total Duration: 158 minutes only
• Cast: Sunil Dutt, Kishore Kumar, Saira Banu, Mehmood, Praveen Paul, Om Prakash and Mukri
• Director: Jyoti Swaroop
• Recorded budget: 0.70 Crore INR

Padosan, with a cast that includes Kishore Kumar, Mehmood, Saira Banu, and Sanjay Dutt, is one of the greatest comedies in Bollywood history. Their impeccable comic timing, paired with a hilarious premise, has had audiences laughing throughout. Sunil Dutt and Saira Banu are the film’s stars for their main roles. Also, the supporting cast, including Raj Kishore, Mukri, Kishore Kumar, and Keshto Mukherjee, played crucial roles in this film. One of the film’s highlights for the viewers is Mehmood’s performance as Sunil Dutt’s adversary and as a South Indian singer to entertain. R. D. Burman was the composer of the music in this film.

Bawarchi ( 07 July, 1972)

• Recorded IMDB rating: 8.1/10
• Total Duration: 130 minutes only
• Notable Cast: Star Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Asrani, Rajesh Khanna, Usha Kiran, Avtar Kishan Hangal, and Harindranath Chattopadhyay
• Director name: Hrishikesh Mukherjee

Galpa Holeo Satyi, a 1966 Bengali film, served as the inspiration for the Bawarchi film. Govardhan Asrani is among the cast, playing in collaboration with Jaya Bacchan. The others also included the famous Durga Khote and the talented AK Hangal as cast members. The voice of Amitabh Bachchan, who was delivering the story, is also audible to viewers.

Contemporary Comedy Hits

By the end of 2023, it will be quite obvious that the new decade has not exactly been pleasant. Comedy as a genre feels more relevant than ever, as a lot of people have been using films as a welcome form of escape. While comedies offer solace during stressful times, others go above and beyond by defying expectations, employing dark humor, and incorporating unexpected and genre-bending aspects to create an enduring impact.

Heyy Babyy (24 August, 2007)

• Recorded IMDB rating: 6.0/10
• Duration: 144 min only
• Cast: Star Akshay Kumar, Fardeen Khan, Vidya Balan, Juanna Sanghvi, Boman Irani, Amrita Arora, Shah Rukh Khan
• Director: Sajid Khan
• Budget: 36 Crores INR

This movie will always be remembered for its stellar cast and storyline. The film, starring Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Fardeen Khan, and Riteish Deshmukh, is an adaptation of the 1987 American film Three Men and a Baby. A well-known Malayalam film called Thoovalsparsham (1990) was adapted from the American film “Three Men and a Baby” (1987), which was itself based on the French film Three Men and a Cradle. This film’s main plot and emotions are based on that film.

Golmaal Fun Unlimited (14 July, 2006)

• Recorded IMDB rating: 7.5/10
• Total Duration: 130 minutes only
• Cast: Superstar Ajay Devgan, Tusshar Kapoor, Arshad Warsi, Sharman Joshi, Paresh Rawal, and Rimi Sen
• Director: Rohit Shetty and production
• Budget: 15 Crores INR

The story of Golmaal Fun Unlimited centers on a group of friends who discover an incredibly wealthy elderly couple. Now, whether they plan on robbing the couple or something entirely different takes place, you’d have to watch the movie to find out. As this Golmaal series have always been considered under best comedy films of India.

Total Dhamaal (22 February, 2019)

• Recorded IMDB rating: 4.2/10
• Total Duration: 130 minutes only
• Cast: Youngstar Anil Kapoor, Ajay Devgaan, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Arshad Warsi, Johnny Lever, Javeed Jaffrey, Boman Irani, Esha Gupta
• Director: Indra Kumar
• Budget: 90 Crores INR

As the name implies, Total Dhamaal is a fun-filled, slightly chaotic film. The plot is based primarily on the unprecedented crash of a specific aircraft that had been carrying looted treasure in Janakpur. The locals fighting with one another to get their hands on this mysterious treasure is what makes up this movie.

Angrezi Medium (13 March, 2020)

• Recorded IMDB rating: 7.2/10
• Total Duration: 145 minutes only
• Cast: Radhika Madan, Irrfan Khan, Deepak Dobriyal, Ananya Panday, Kareena Kapoor, Myrah Dandekar, Ankit Bisht, Tillotama Shome
• Director: Homi Adajania and team
• Budget: 36 Crores INR

The well-known film Angrezi Medium is actually a sequel to the box-office hit “Hindi Medium”. The talented and well-received Irfan Khan had been paired up with the charming actress. The storyline defines the story of a father and daughter (played by Radhika Madam) in the movie. The duo works to make efforts to help the daughter find a study opportunity all the way in London.

Unconventional Comedy Gems

Even though they might not seem alike at first glance, these movies are no exception to the saying that a good chuckle is worth its weight in gold these days. When it comes to unconventional movies, there is a whole fandom dedicated to them that bears proof of their popularity. Furthermore, these comedies might not seem all that strange after all, given how we’re all rapidly becoming aware of the strange in these odd times.

Bollywood Calling (21 December, 2001)

• Recorded IMDB rating: 6.3/10
• Total Duration: 101 minutes only
• Cast: Nagesh Kukunoor, Pat Cusick, Perizaad Zorabian, Om Puri, Mira Nair, Navin Nischol, Elahe Hiptoola, Chet Dixon
• Director: Nagesh Kukunoor
• Budget: 52 lakhs INR

Using lovable but flawed characters, filmmaker Nagesh Kukunoor portrays Bollywood in this film that criticizes the motion picture industry as a whole. The movie paints a playful picture of reality, where the much darker and uglier facade of the entertainment industry is revealed. This is a need when it comes to putting the truth in front of the audience indirectly since it is a necessary evil plus a false method of salvation for a significant number of individuals.

Welcome To Sajjanpur (19 September, 2008)

• Recorded IMDB rating: 6.9/10
• Total Duration: 133 minutes only
• Cast: Shreyas Talpade, Amrita Rao, Ravi Kishan and Jhankal, Divya Dutta, Ila Arun, Rajit Kapoor, Yashpal Sharma
• Director: Shyam Benegal and team
• Budget: 9 Crores INR

On the outside, it is a comedy, but on the inside, even if it is considered to be a laughing pill, the satire on politics and society makes it a serious revelation. It examines the pressing problems facing our country, yet it does so in a lighthearted way. An educated man writes letters for a variety of clients representing different facets of our society, all of whom live in his impoverished and uneducated town.

Phans Gaye Re Obama (03 December, 2010)

• Recorded IMDB rating: 7.5/10
• Total Duration: 108 minutes only
• Cast: Rajat Kapoor, Neha Dhupia, Sanjay Mishra, Amole Gupte, Manu Rishi, Bijendra Kala, Amit Sial, Sumit Nijhawan
• Director: Subhas Kapoor
• Budget: 6 Crores INR

When a gang of desperate Indian thugs kidnaps an NRI, they have no idea that the victim is nearly bankrupt and considered as one of the best comedy film too. This humorous satire, which stars Rajat Kapoor, Neha Dhupia, Manu Rishi, Sanjay Mishra, and Amol Gupte, is set against the backdrop of the American recession.

Why Are These Films Timeless?

Certain films only get better with age, much like good wines. Some, nonetheless, manage to hold their beauty over time and serve as an inspiration to audiences and future generations of filmmakers. These films seem timeless in general, because that’s exactly what they are. Everything literally has a time stamp on it. Scores, coloring, and even some visual effects belong to a specific era. In a metaphorical sense, these films transcend generations since they capture a common human feeling or experience.

The saying “nothing lasts forever” has a lot of validity. Everything evolves at some point or another, rendering previous versions worthless. What makes a movie any different in a world where everything ends? Although the method by which we watch films has undoubtedly evolved, our perception of them as works of art hasn’t altered at all.

Conclusion

The funniest films have a way of embedding themselves in our memories more than any other popular entertainment. They remind us of specific times in history as well as entire periods, and, through recurrent viewings and earworm quotations, they build unconscious patterns for life’s milestones and stopovers, such as dating, road trips, college, marriage, and the working world.

The best comedy films also benefit from a freedom that appears out of place in most other media: the full range of acting, editing, and musical options; frequent R ratings that allow them the appropriate range of artistic motion; and runtimes that let them create intricate but self-contained worlds.

We hear this all the time: “Comedy is subjective.” Perhaps, but if something continues to be humorous for decades, it is obviously appealing to our sense of humor in a variety of settings and cultures.

FAQs – Top 10 Comedy Films Made in Bollywood

Which was the first comedy film in India?

The first full-fledged satirical comedy film was made by Dhirendra Nath Ganguly in Bengal in 1921, titled “Bilet Ferot” (Return From London). The advent of the comedy genre has made Bollywood undergo various changes to produce timeless movies even today.

Why should you watch comedy movies?

Researchers have experimented with the comic genre, and the results have shown that watching comedies helps relieve stress, improves mood, burns calories, and increases your lifespan.

Who is the father of Indian comedy?

Johnny Lever is considered to be the father of Indian comedy. Lever is one of the first Indian stand-up comedians and a prominent Bollywood figure. He is referred to as such.

Who is the comedy king of the Bollywood industry?

Per the record, actor Paresh Rawal is renowned for making the crowd laugh during every film performance. As a supporting actor in the 1985 movie “Arjun,” Rawal made his Bollywood debut in the industry. He is now well-known for his comedic timing and his characters’ distinctive characteristics or performances.