Bollywood comedies to watch on April Fool's Day: Revisit these classics starring Dharmendra, Akshay Kumar & others

Bollywood actors Tiger Shroff and Akshay Kumar have done some comedic gags for social media, ahead of the release of their film Bade Miyan Chote Miyan on April 10. (Image source: X/@akshaykumar)

‘April Fool banaya to unko gussa aaya,’ sang Mohammed Rafi in the 1964 film by the name ‘April Fool’. This apart, there are several comedy films which are known for their pranks and hoaxes, which is what April Fool’s Day symbolises.

Some stories of Bollywood actors pranking each other and the crew have gone down in our film histories. Case in point: When Deepika Padukone smashed a glass bottle over Rohit Shetty's head on the sets of 'Chennai Express', and then asked the spot boy to bring him juice or something for the bleeding. The staged gag shocked co-star Shah Rukh Khan who wasn't in on it.

More recently, actors Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff have been seen in a series of comedic gags, leading up to the April 10 release of their film, 'Bade Miyan Chote Miyan'. In case you missed their Holi gag, where Tiger Shroff empties a bucket of coloured water on himself, see it here:

Bura na mano, Holi hai #HappyHoli everyone. pic.twitter.com/H8rY3WPm45

— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) March 25, 2024

Apart from off-screen gags, there are of course on-screen gimmicks, laughs aplenty. If you're looking for something suitably comedic for movie night tonight, consider these seven gems:

1. In the 1979 film ‘Golmaal’, Amol Palekar, as Ram Prasad, plays pranks on a stern and strict, Bhavani Shankar, played by Utpal Dutt, to win him over and ask for the hand of his daughter, Urmila (Bindya Goswami), in marriage.

2. In ‘Angoor’ (1982) based on Shakespeare’s 'Comedy of Errors’, Sanjeev Kumar and Deven Varma, both in double roles, create complicated and fun situations, with their tricks arising out of their twin characters.

3. The 1975 iconic comedy film, ‘Chupke Chupke’ is built around pranks and mischiefs. The background score by SD Burman underlines the fun vibe. In the film, the protagonist (played by Dharmendra) manages to fool his co-brother (played by Om Prakash), who prides himself on his intelligence and ability to judge people correctly. Dharmendra's character pretends to be a driver who elopes with Prakash's sister-in-law, just to prove to him that even intelligent people can make mistakes in judging others.

4. In ‘Jhoot Bole Kauwa Kaate’, Shankar (Anil Kapoor) who loves Urmila (Juhi Chawla), begins to create a series of lies in a bid to get her to marry him, by fooling her father Mr. Abhyankar, an orthodox retired policeman played by Amrish Puri.

5. ‘Hera Pheri’ (2000) revolves around a troublesome trio – Paresh Rawal, Suneil Shetty and Akshay Kumar, playing pranks, but eventually getting involved in a dangerous case of kidnapping.

6. ‘Dhamaal’ is about four lazy slacker conmen buddies who are jobless, homeless, broke and learn about the secret of a hidden treasure from a dying thief and embark upon a race against time to find the mobster's buried treasure, while being pursued by a determined police inspector who they con and play tricks on.

7. In recent times, ‘Laapata Ladies’, where the misadventures of two young brides who get lost from the same train, is the central theme, mistaken identities to laugh-out-aloud escapades and the ensuing chaos, results in a laugh riot.