New Delhi: Director Abhinay Deo’s Blackmail that opened to Rs2.81 crore last Friday joins the short list of black comedies in Bollywood, an industry that is known to thrive on slapstick humour and loud jokes. A list of ten black comedies.
Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983): Director Kundan Shah’s cult classic was a satire on Indian politics, bureaucracy and media. The Naseeruddin Shah, Ravi Baswani and Om Puri-starrer is considered one of the most influential Indian films ever.
Pushpaka Vimana (1987): The silent film directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao follows an unnamed, poor youth played by Kamal Haasan. It won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.
Being Cyrus (2005): Homi Adajania’s black comedy thriller revolves around a dysfunctional Parsi family. The film starring Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Naseeruddin Shah and Boman Irani had both English and Hindi versions and earned Rs3 crore at the box office.
Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye (2008): The Dibakar Banerjee film was inspired by the real-life escapades of a Delhi-based thief. The Abhay Deol, Paresh Rawal and Neetu Chandra-starrer won the National Award for Best Popular Film and made Rs6 crore in box office collections.
Dev. D(2009): The Anurag Kashyap film was a modern take on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s classic Bengali novella Devdas. Set in contemporary Punjab and Delhi, the Abhay Deol, Mahie Gill and Kalki Koechlin-starrer earned Rs15 crore at the box office.
Ishqiya (2010): Abhishek Chaubey’s directorial debut revolves around an ageing man and his young nephew falling for the same woman. The Naseeruddin Shah, Vidya Balan and Arshad Warsi-starrer made Rs22 crore at the box office and spawned a sequel titled Dedh Ishqiya (2014).
Delhi Belly (2011): Abhinay Deo’s earlier film was much in the news on theatrical release for its profane and explicit content. Starring Imran Khan, Vir Das and Kunal Roy Kapur, it made Rs54 crore at the box office.
Jolly LLB (2013): The Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani-starrer focused on judicial corruption and was directed by Subhash Kapoor. It won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi and made Rs30 crore at the box office.
Newton (2017): Director Amit V. Masurkar’s film starring Rajkummar Rao is a satire on the Indian electoral process. The official Indian entry for the Academy Awards last year, it had earned Rs22 crore in box office collections.
Kaalakaandi (2018): The Akshat Verma directed follows multiple parallel lives over the course of one rainy night. Starring Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Oberoi among others, it made Rs4 crore at the box office.
All figures have been sourced from movie website Box Office India.