Bollywood comedies to look forward to in 2019

High concept films, interesting and engaging storylines have started appealing to the audiences and started compelling them to go the theatres. There are plenty of great Bollywood films releasing in 2019 that audiences can look forward to. From big ensemble casts coming together or sequels to previous hit franchises or showcasing of diverse genres of comedy ranging from adventure, action thriller, dramatic, horror, romantic or adult black comedy, there is something in store for everyone this year. Thus, 2019 looks set to be a great year for Bollywood, with so many promising releases. With all these highly anticipated and exciting movies coming out, here are the comic flicks we are looking forward to this year.

By Nikhil Nihal

‘Total Dhamaal’ is the third film in the franchise after ‘Dhamaal’ (2007) and ‘Double Dhamaal’ (2011). Riteish Deshmukh (Deshbandhu Roy), Arshad Warsi (Aditya Shrivastav) and Javed Jaffrey (Manav Shrivastav) reprise their roles from the previous films. However, for this film, Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit and Ajay Devgn join the usual trio. This will be the first collaboration between the iconic jodi of Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit in 17 years. Director Indra Kumar has recreated 2 classic songs, ‘Paisa Ye Paisa’ from ‘Karz’ (1980) and ‘Mungda’ from ‘Inkaar’ (1978). The film also has a huge supporting cast. This adventure comedy has been released today, ie., February 22, 2019.

Releasing on 1st March, ‘Luka Chuppi’ is an upcoming Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Laxman Utekar. Produced by Dinesh Vijan, it stars Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon in the lead. The romantic comedy tells the story of Guddu, a reporter in Mathura who falls in love with Rashmi, a headstrong woman. The couple decides to go for a live-in relationship, but their journey takes a twisted turn when their family joins ensuing chaos. The film also features veterans Pankaj Tripathi and Vinay Pathak in pivotal roles.

Vasan Bala’s ‘Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota’ is a whimsical, fantasy thriller that pays homage to vintage action movies. The movie has been making waves world over in the festival circuit. This Bala’s movie is a fine example of an Indian film which seems to have global audiences buzzing with viewers closer to home eagerly awaiting its release. The action drama starring Abhimanyu Dassani, Radhika Madan and Gulshan Devaiah is slated to release on 21st March.The film's story follows a young man who has a rare condition called Congenital insensitivity to pain and strikes out on a quest to vanquish his foes. The wacky trailer seems to be looking like India’s answer to Hollywood films like ‘Kick Ass’ and ‘Deadpool’. It promises to be a zany fun ride and experience which is rare to be seen in Indian cinema these days.

Based on Anuja Chauhan's novel of the same name, ‘The Zoya Factor’ is an upcoming sports romantic comedy, starring Dulquer Salman and Sonam Kapoor in the lead roles. It is about a Rajput girl named Zoya Singh Solanki played by Sonam Kapoor who meets the Indian cricket team through her job. She joins them as an executive in an advertising agency and ends up becoming a lucky charm for the team for the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Dulquer Salmaan plays Nikhil Khoda, a character modeled on MS Dhoni. The novel was immensely popular when it first came out, and we're excited to see if the movie adaptation stays true to the spirit of the novel. The movie is presently scheduled to release on April 5.

Another romantic comedy to hit the box office 2019 is ‘Arjun Patiala’. It stars Diljit Dosanjh, Kriti Sanon and Varun Sharma in the lead roles. While Diljit Dosanjh has starred in his fair share of Punjabi romantic comedies, this is the first time Bollywood will be witnessing the quirky side of the actor. The movie is scheduled to release on May 3rd, 2019.

‘Jabariya Jodi’ is an upcoming Indian romantic comedy film starring Sidharth Malhotra and Parineeti Chopra. The film is based upon the tradition of groom kidnapping, prevalent in Bihar where grooms are abducted in order to prevent dowry. The film has been bankrolled by Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor and Shailesh. R. Singh and directed by Prashant Singh. The movie will be hitting the theatres on 17th May this year.

On 17th May, another Indian romantic movie will be making its way to the box office. Titled, ‘De De Pyaar De’ is the directorial debut of Akiv Ali. The film has been written and produced by Luv Ranjan. It features Ajay Devgn and Rakul Preet Singh in the lead roles. It also features Tabu and Jimmy Shergill in pivotal roles.

Sunny Singh and Sonnalli Seygall having played mismatched lovers in ‘Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2,’ have reunited for debutant director Navjot Gulati’s ‘Jai Mummy Di’. This time they have come together as devoted love-birds with Supriya Pathak and Poonam Dhillon essaying the roles of their respective on-screen warring mothers. The movie is a light-hearted family comedy that shows how the conflicting dynamics between these two mothers is leading to muddled chemistry between their own children and between other members of both families. It’s a witty, interesting and entertaining comedy that weaves in family dynamics. The film has been produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Luv Ranjan and Ankur Garg. It is a modest film made without any splashes and is set to release on July 12th this year.

Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor Khan reunite on-screen in ‘Good News’. Akshay and Kareena play a married Delhi couple who are trying to conceive in the film. The movie revolves around them trying to have a baby and everything else they go through. Reports suggest that it revolves around couples opting for IVF or surrogacy. Moreover, Diljit Dosanjh and Kiara Advani join the cast as a married Punjabi couple.

The film is being helmed by debutant director Raj Mehta and produced by Karan Johar. Akshay went on Twitter during August 2018 to share the official announcement of the film and calling the film a dramedy.‘Good News’ is all set for a summer release on July 19, 2019.

‘Made in China’ marks the debut Hindi feature film of National Award winning director Mikhil Musale’s. It will feature Rajkummar Rao as a down-in-the-dumps Gujarati businessman who pursues the allure of entrepreneurship and looks all set to be a rousing, inspiring tale of enterprise and resolve. It is a story of an ambitious Gujarati couple who takes a stab at opening a business in China. The film also features Mouni Roy, Boman Irani, Amyra Dastur and Sumeet Vyas and is slated to release on 30th August 2019.

With ‘Chhichhore’ Nitesh Tiwari, the man behind ‘Dangal’, one of India’s greatest sports films of all time, returns to helm a college backdrop comedy. The project has been produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. It has a huge ensemble cast comprising of Sushant Singh Rajput, Shraddha Kapoor, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Varun Sharma, Siddharth, Prateik Babbar. The movie will be coming out on 30th August.

Filmmaker Anurag Basu's next is a dark comic anthology having four different stories set in an Indian metro. The film stars Abhishek Bachchan, Rajkummar Rao, Aditya Roy Kapur, Pankaj Tripathi, Sanya Malhotra and Fatima Sana Shaikh. It is said that the film is somewhere similar on the lines of Basu's earlier directorial 'Life In A Metro'. The multi-starrer film is about the unavoidable jeopardies of life. It is a slice of life film with stories intersecting each other amid drama and emotion. The music for the film will be composed by Pritam. The film has been produced by Bhushan Kumar, Anurag Basu, Tani Somarita Basu and Krishan Kumar. It is slated to hit the screens this year on 6th September.

Very little has been disclosed about Raaj Shaandilyaa’s ‘Dream Girl’, except for the fact that last year’s most accomplished performer Ayushmann Khurrana is playing the titular role. He has been cast opposite Luv Ranjan-regular Nushrat Bharucha in what appears to be a delightful little oddball of a film. Reportedly, Ayushmann’s role is about a guy who plays Sita in Ram Leela who has the unique talent of taking out both male and female voices. It’s said to be a full-on commercial film and it will be interesting to see how debutante director Raaj Shaandilyaa’s ‘Dream Girl’ turns out to be. Produced by Shobha Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor and Aashish Singh, the film is set to release on 13th October.

‘Housefull 4’ is one of the highly anticipated films of this year. It is the fourth installment of the ‘Housefull’ franchise which is being helmed by Farhad Samji. Like it’s previous installments, this one too boasts of a huge ensemble cast comprising of Akshay Kumar, Kriti Sanon, Riteish Deshmukh, Bobby Deol, Kriti Kharbanda, Rana Dagubatti, Pooja Hegde, Nikitin Dheer, Chunky Pandey, Boman Irani, Sharad Kelkar, Johnny Lever and Pradeep Rawat. ‘Housefull 4’ promises to be an insanely fun ride filled with a solid dose of laughter and entertainment. The film wil be hitting the big screen on 25th October.

Another comedy movie to look forward to in 2019 is ‘Pagalpanti’. It is a hardcore commercial film, full of madness, lots of comedy and a good punch of action. It has a huge stellar star-cast of Anil Kapoor, John Abraham, Ileana D'Cruz, Arshad Warsi, Pulkit Samrat, Kriti Kharbanda, Urvashi Rautela and Saurabh Shukla. The film is slated to release on December 6th.

If ‘Lipstick Under My Burkha’ was one of the timeliest Hindi movies of 2016, ‘Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare’ Alankrita Shrivastava directorial venture starring Konkona Sen Sharma and Bhumi Pednekar appears to be a more comical satirical take on gender equality. Produced by Ekta Kapoor, the movie also stars Kubbra Sait and Vikrant Massey, and the talent on board is enough to raise our hopes that this will be a fun entertainer.