YES, THERE are the gut-wrenching stories and the romances. Still, Heyy Babyy, Partner, Dhol, Loins of Punjab and Dhamaal —all released in quick succession —have had the most success at the box office.
It's a simple demand-and-supply equation, say industry experts. "With stress levels on the rise, most people look at movies as a way of unwinding," says Ramesh Aravind, whose directorial debut, Rama Shama Bhama, a comedy, was a big hit.
Why did he choose comedy as the theme for his first directorial venture? "When you laugh out loud, you shed all your inhibitions and you are yourself. And for a director, there's nothing better than seeing his audience erupt in laughter," he says.
Actor Milind Soman agrees there's nothing better than an experience that allows you to forget your troubles and have a good laugh. "Comedies have always had a following. Of all the movie genres, I think romance and comedy enjoy the most popularity," he says.
But comedies are serious business, because making people laugh needs special skills VJ Cyrus Sahukar says, "It's extremely difficult to make someone laugh. Nowadays movies have a combination of slapstick humour, gags and a lot of one-liners, which seems to be going down well with the audiences," he says.
Actor Rahul Bose, who starred in the light-hearted Pyaar Ke Side Effects, says actors in a comedy must have good comic timing. "You either have it or you don't. And for a funny film to work, both the filmmaker and the actors have got to get it right," he says.
But even as actors get their comic timing right, there is the danger of becoming a stereotype. In the past there were Johnny Walker and Keshto Mukherjee who were roped in to evoke laughter. And Paresh Rawal, after a long stint in on-screen villainy, has been doing comic roles ever since Hera Pheri.
Milind feels there is danger of being typecast if actors keep doing the same kind of movies or play all characters in the same style. "In fact, many actors actually owe their success to finding their particular niche and staying there all their professional lives," he says.