This list provides some of the top Comedy characters that Bollywood has ever produced. Check them out here!
17 Famous Bollywood Comedy Characters That Are All Time Hit! From Paresh Rawal’s Baburao to Nana Patekar’s Uday Bhai, our B-town comedians have given us multiple memorable characters over the years. Some of them are so iconic that they are still quoted to this day even after decades of these characters being relevant. Here’s a list of some of the characters that have made our stomachs ache with laughter time and time again.
Comedy is one of the most rewarding and hard genres to master. Over the years we have seen numerous actors being proficient in genres like romance, drama, thrillers and horror but comedy has always been a sublime genre. Some of these actors have dedicated their whole lives towards the art form and have complete control over their comic timing and dialogue deliveries which has kept us laughing till the end.
Today we will have a look at some of the most memorable comedy characters that Bollywood has bestowed upon us.
1) Baburao Ganpatrao Apte
17 Famous Bollywood Comedy Characters: Paresh Rawal is considered one of the pioneers of modern comedy in Bollywood movies. With his hilarious portrayal of unorthodox characters. His role as Baburao in Hera Pheri (2000) and Phir Hera Pheri (2006) is considered to be his career-best. His expressive Marathi accent and his silly yet adorable understanding of the rules of the world have given us a masterpiece of a character that will be remembered and used as an example for comedy movies and moviemakers for years and years to come.
2) Chote Pandit/Lal Hanuman
The movie Bhool Bhoolaiya (2007) is a hilarious yet dark movie but there were a lot of minor roles that made the movie so memorable and comic. The most significant was Raj Pal Yadav’s Chote Pandit who stole the show with his incredible physical comedy. His chemistry with the other characters, comical expressions and dialogue delivery were so smooth and natural which no script can teach an actor.
3) Uday Shetty
Welcome (2007) has given us so many memorable characters that it is impossible to choose just one. But first and foremost, we must mention Uday Shetty portrayed by the legendary Uday Shetty. It is truly amazing how a serious and down to earth person like Nana can fit into the persona of Uday Shetty, an underworld don with anger issues and a trigger-happy mentality. His iconic phrase “Control Uday” is still quoted on the internet and every movie-lover out there.
4) Majnu Bhai
It is only a poetic justice if Uday Shetty is always followed by his most loyal henchman Majnu Bhai. Anil Kapoor has never been known for his comic performances as he played mostly happy-go-lucky good guys in most of his movies. But he played the role of the artist by day and killer by night Majnu Bhai more than perfectly. His dialogue delivery was so superb that everyone watching would be convinced that he truly is a henchman ready to do any bad deed for his superior. Moreover, his wardrobe and expressions were so laughable that they had the audience on their bellies the whole time.
5) Manav
Javed Jaffrey has always been an underrated actor in Bollywood and never really found a role that defined him but 2007’s Dhamaal gave him the perfect opportunity and character. His dumb wittedness and innocent mistakes were not only to make the audience laugh their hearts out but also were featured as a major plot point in many scenes. His habit to always ‘step forward’ when his friends are in danger is a brilliant addition to the movie and so is his hilarious performance.
6) Crime Master Go Go
17 Famous Bollywood Comedy Characters: The evergreen Andaaz Apna Apna (1994) gave us many memorable characters like Prem, Amar, Teja and Robert but also gave us a supervillain Crime-Master Go-Go. With his hilarious and iconic phrase “Crime Master Go Go Naam hai Mera, Ankhe Niklake Gotiyan Khelta hu’, Shakti Kapoor delivered one of the most memorable characters in the history of comedy.
7) Leeladhar Maharaj
Even though OMG (2012) dealt with a very serious socio-economic topic, it gave us the memorable character of Leeladhar Maharaj. Most actors entertain the audience with their dialogues or expression but Mithun Chakraborty entertained the audience with just his postures and silence which came off as quite the hilarious event. Now that is a huge achievement in itself.
8) Circuit
The Munna Bhai franchise would be totally dry and incomplete without its heart and soul, Circuit. Arshad Warsi’s impeccable comic timing and tapori accent have kept us laughing even to this day. His portrayal of character alongside Sanjay Dutt’s character is just outstanding and the comic chemistry the due shares is commendable. This performance is one of Arshad’s career-best of Sarkeshwar.
9) Appu Khotey
Aamdani Atthanni Kharcha Rupaiya’, undoubtedly has memorable actors when it comes to comedy, Appu Khotey is one of them. The iconic star, Johnny Lever, known for his comedy, has played the character of a drunk but a comic husband who not only fools his wife and landlord but also makes you laugh equally.
10) Choocha
The Fukrey series was probably one of the most unexpected successes in Bollywood and much of it is due to the character of Choocha played by Varun Sharma. His expressions and predicaments have made us laugh equally throughout all the three films of the franchise. It is only natural that the film and Choocha’s character got so much love and appreciation as he was so adorable yet so funny at the same time.
11) Chatur / Silencer
17 Famous Bollywood Comedy Characters: 3 idiots (2009) is a Bollywood classic and probably considered one of the best movies of all time. However, the character of Chatur is never a part of their success. The annoying yet extremely funny Chatur played by Omi Vaidya never ceased to amaze us with his pettiness and quirky behaviour. Yet, his speech in the first half of the movie is one of the best comedy scenes that will make you burst into laughter at any stage of your life.
12) Vasooli Bhai
Mukesh Tiwari is another one who has never received their due share of love and appreciation they should’ve. But his portrayal of the character Vasooli Bhai never seizes to make the audience laugh. He is a recurring character in Rohit Shetty’s Golmaal franchise. And probably one of the most memorable ones the movie has given us. His walk, talk and the vastav-ka-tika will forever remain in our minds and hearts.
13) Babla
Bhagam Bhag (2006) is one of the funniest and hilarious movies that one can ever watch. Each character has its individual quirks and comic traits. However, we chose Babla played by Govinda who was the funniest among them all. An Indian stuck in a crime ploy stuck as a drug dealer. And all the while looking for a heroine for his show. Can there be a plot more ridiculous or funny than this? His expressions and physical signatures were something that brought the character to life. And how estranged and out of place, Babla felt throughout the movie.
14) Raju
17 Famous Bollywood Comedy Characters: Any character that Akshay Kumar has played could arguably be on this list. But we chose his iconic role of Raju. With his degree in ITUS (Iske Topi Uske Sir), Raju made the audience roll over in laughter. So many times while on his absurd journey to riches. This character has spawned so many Bollywood memes that are not even worth trying to keep up. The character is so memorable and quotable that people still use his catchphrases. Even after more than a decade of its on-screen portrayal. Truly a classic!
15) Ritesh Deshmukh
Ritesh has given us so many memorable characters. That it is truly a hard choice for us to pick the one that made us laugh the most! We choose his Nartaki Bangdu Maharaj performance in Housefull 4. He is a dance teacher who acts feminine to be closer to the princess he loves. His performance is just hilarious. And the physical comedy he brings to the table is unbelievable from any other on the film.
16) Professor Rasai
Main Hoon Na (2004) is a movie about Shahrukh Khan and Sushmita Sen’s performances. But there was a minor character who stole the show with barely any screen time. It was the spit-master professor Rasai who terrorized the students with his spit—sorry speech. It was truly remarkable how such a minor character can be so memorable to this date.
17) Bulla
Here’s a bonus for you all. Even though Gunda (1998) is one of the worst movies in Bollywood with its corny dialogues. And even cornier characters but it is memorable nonetheless. Among all of them, the best or rather the worst was Bulla. Whose catchphrase was ‘Naam hai Bulla, Rakhta hu khulla’. What did they expect with lines like that?
Did we leave any of your favourite characters out? Let us know in the comments!
Also, Read 15 Most Beautiful Locations of India Depicted in Bollywood Movies! (rbollywood.com)