There are many directors who make that one off extremely funny comedy and dont get back to that same standard after that. But there is one guy who has created a well oiled comedy film factory that has been running for 30 years.. Just like Satish Shah used to say famously in ye jo hai zindagi - apneko 30 yrs ka experience hai.
I am talking of Priyadarsan.. The multi talented director perfected the process of making clean screwball comedies that had no vulgarity , situational humour, out of the world characters who left their unique mark in the movie and a mad cap climax. Starting in the golden age of Malayalam cinema in the 80s with a supremely successful partnership with Mohanlal, Priyadarsan's comedies are a perfect recipe for unbridled laughter.
And you cant talk of unique characters without mentioning Baburao Ganpatrao Apte. For years Priyadarsan struggled to replicate his style of comedy which needed a bunch of actors who have extremely good comic timing and deadpan dialogue delivery in Bollywood.
Hera Pheri succeeded after many disastrous attempts including Muskurahat, saat rang ke sapne. In Paresh Rawal and somewhat untested comicsurprise package of Akshay Kumar and Sunil shetty as jobless youth he found both salvation and redemption...
The other unsung hero is a famous Nukkad Guy better known as Neeraj Vora. some people will know him as the joker from circus. It was his dialogues that also contributed significantly. Taking everyday chawl situations and putting the lahsooni twang of crackling Mumbai Marathi style delivery, Baburao ka style is the distinct hallmark of this movie. Incredulous yet indigenous solutions like if the door of a shared toilet did not have a latch then the only way to know someone was inside the toilet was if the person inside sang. A landlord who just managed to earn a meagre rent and had the risk of debt by the tenants, a phone that always had the 'wrong number' and many such quirks made Baburao both endearing, comic and irritating.
Enjoy Baburao ka style.
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