Darna mana hai!
Preeti Thakur
When monsters start cracking jokes, you know you’re in for a ghoulish giggle fest! Horror comedies sure seem to be a rage in Bollywood. With Stree 2 breaking the opening day record of Fighter at the box-office on Independence Day, we look at some other films in the genre that the audiences loved.
The opening day net collection of Stree 2 was Rs 64.80 crore, which is the most any film has made this year. It’s also the highest opening for a Bollywood sequel. The first part, Stree, which was released in 2018, was made at a budget of Rs 23-25 crore. A sleeper hit, it changed the game for horror comedies forever! Opening at Rs 6 crore, within a week the collection touched Rs 60 crore and overall the film made a whopping Rs 180 crore! Starring Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Aparshakti Khurana, Pankaj Tripatji and Abhishek Banerjee, the sequel has them all reprising their roles.
Starring Sharvari, Mona Singh and Abhay Verma, Munjya (2024), directed by Aditya Sarpotdar, made at a budget of Rs 30 crore, stunned with a worldwide collection of Rs 132.13 crore. It is part of a shared universe (Maddock Supernatural Universe), created by Dinesh Vijan, which also consists of the movies Stree (2018) and Bhediya (2022). The scares in the movie are real, but the laughs are out of this world!
Roohi (2021), starring Rajkummar Rao, Jahnvi Kapoor and Varun Sharma, under the direction of Hardik Mehta, narrates the story of a ghost who abducts brides on their honeymoons. Seeing the protagonist turn from a demure damsel during the day to a terrifying monster at night makes the fare fantastic.
Phone Bhoot (2022), directed by Gurmmeet Singh, rings in the laughs and keeps you on the line for a supernatural ride. It follows two bumbling ghostbusters, played by Siddhant Chaturvedi and Ishaan Khattar, who stumble upon the idea that’s literally out of the world — a hotline for spooky souls! With the help of a hauntingly beautiful ghost, played by Katrina Kaif, the three sail through the highs and lows of the start-up world.
Under the direction of Anees Bazmee, starring Kartik Aaryan, Kiara Advani and Tabu, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (2022) is a mixture of chills and chuckles. Rooh Baba, played by the handsome Aaryan, delights one and all with his act.
Horror becomes fun when there is an added zing of reality and Romanchan (2023), directed by Jithu Madhavan, is a perfect example. Romancham was the fifth highest grossing Malayalam film of 2023 and its Hindi remake Kapkapiii will release soon. Starring Soubin Shahir, Arjun Ashokan and Sajin Gopu, the plot revolves around seven friends and an unfortunate series of events following their encounter with an Ouija board.
Aditya Sarpotdar-directed Kakuda (2024) is another film in the genre that impresses. Story of a cursed village, starring Sonakshi Sinha, Riteish Deshmukh and Saqib Saleem, Kakuda opens door to a classic blend of comedy suspense and horror, ensuring you’re always on your toes. Also, Tamil film Kaatteri (2022), starring Vaibhav Reddy, Sonam Bajwa, Aathmika and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, and directed by Deekay, tells the story of a gang of treasure-seeking criminals and their journey in a hillside village filled with ghosts.
‘Horror-comedies are here to stay’
Stree was a big hit and Stree 2 is probably going to do four times the business! People love a mix of comedy and horror, and if the content is good there is nothing to stop that film from becoming a blockbuster. I think people are a little tired of just comedies, so horror-comedies seem to be a good alternative. Nobody ever complained about screaming inside cinema halls because of the thrills provided by horror, but if you add a tadka of comedy then it’s a deadly combination. — Komal Nahta, Film trade analyst
