New Delhi: Probably it was the beginning of the talkie era which made the filmmakers realise the importance of breathers. The directors had started experimenting with the themes and they were feeling the need of giving a relatively lighter scene before packing the climax with a punch.
Earlier comedians were specialists and they were treated as full fledged actors. Quite often they were seen in almost every sequence of the film. Mukri, Dada Kondke, Johny Walker, Bhagwan Dada, Rajendra Nath, Kishore Kumar, they were known as independent actors who were not responsible for the story but their presence was necessary for the film.
Slowly and steadily, the mood and understanding of the audience changed and they started demanding more out of the established heroes. There was a tragedy king, there was a king of romance and there was a master of style but nobody was there who was equally good in comic scenes.
Dharmendra and Jeetendra tried to fill in that gap but it remained vacant till the arrival of Amitabh Bachchan who was an ideal actor for comedy oriented films. Through films like 'Sholay', 'Chupke Chupke' and 'Amar Akbar Anthony', he established himself as a complete actor.
It was also a hint for the upcoming actors to brush up their comic timing. However, Mithun, Anil Kapoor and Sunny Deol remained trapped in their usual genres. Meanwhile, the taste of the viewers kept changing and no other primarily comic actor evolved till the second half of 1990 when David Dhawan and Govinda began exploring the possibilities of comic films. One hit after another and the duo reined the Hindi film world for more than three years.
Simultaneously, the industry saw the arrival of actors such as Johny Lever and Rajpal Yadav but due to the producers' unwillingness to back them as full fledged heroes, these actors remained confined to their comfort zones. In a way, they were seen as the replacement of Keshto and Tuntun despite being much more versatile.
They were not as lucky as Utpal Dutt and Deven Verma who were spotted by good storytellers who wrote specific roles for them. Some directors did the same with Rajpal and Vijay Raj but their image as a good character artist hampered their chances.
Now, come to the current scenario. Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Arshad Warsi, Sharman Joshi, Tushar Kapoor and Kunal Khemu are the prominent comic heroes who can also double up as the lead. Akshay Kumar is definitely the most sought actor in comedy-action genre but one actor who has made an enviable position in the same genre is Riteish Deshmukh.
He should be credited for taking risks as he agreed to feature in an adult comedy at a time when no one else was doing so. With 'Masti', he entered an arena which was dangerous and could hamper his image forever but fortunately he became successful. Then came 'Kya Kool Hai Hum' and 'Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum' and his position was cemented. Now, he is all set to hit the screens with his latest adult comedy 'Grand Masti', which seems to be the father of all Hindi films with double meaning dialogues.
Riteish is a good package as he has got the looks and physique of a conventional Bollywood actor and that gives him an edge over the typical comedians. With 'Grand Masti', he is likely to be seen as the forerunner of adult comedies from where he is only going to up the stake.
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