Not everyone enjoys comedy. In fact, when it comes to films, it is the most difficult genre for any actor to do justice to. Fortunately, Hindi cinema is proud to have several comedians whose jokes make the audience laugh out loud. Veteran comics such as Johnny Walker, Mehmood, I.S. Johar, Rajendra Nath, Kader Khan, Rajpal Yadav, Paresh Rawal, and Johnny Lever had us in stitches with their comedic timing.
When most of these comedians collaborated, the duos provided 100 times the entertainment that they could provide alone. In other words, comedy duos equal double the laughs.
If Hollywood has Laurel and Hardy and Joey and Chandler, Bollywood has these 9 comedy duos that we desis grew up with:
1) Kader Khan and Govinda
Govinda and Kader Khan’s chemistry in films such as Coolie No.1, Raja Babu, Aankhen, and Joru Ka Ghulam, to name a few, was fantastic. They aced it all, from competing as dhaba owners and business tycoons in Dulhe Raja to being the cutest father and son-duo in Hero No.1.
2) Paresh Rawal and Akshay Kumar
Raise your hand if you recognize Raju and Baburao’s dialogue in this Hera Pheri scene. “Utha le…”, “arey aise kaise utha loon…” “40-50 ki toh hogi hi.” Similarly, the Akshay Kumar-Paresh Rawal combo entertained us in Phir Hera Pheri, Welcome, Awara Paagal Deewana, Bhagam Bhag, Deewane Huye Paagal, and other films.
3) Kishore Kumar and Sunil Dutt
Sunil Dutt and Kishore Kumar’s jodi in the classic film Padosan as Bhola and Vidyapathi has no competition. While the entire paltan was a lot of fun, Bhola and his Guru were the standout comedy duo. Remember when Vidyapathi tried to teach Bhola to sing? Do I need to say more?
4) Paresh Rawal and Johnny Lever
Paresh Rawal as Manilal teases Chh…Chh…
Chota Chhatri (Johnny Lever’s character) in Awara Paagal Deewana was the double dhamaal created by the two veteran comedians. “Waalo che, Chatri!” Remember? And who can forget Baburao and Munnabhai antics in Phir Hera Pheri?
5) Salman Khan and Aamir Khan
Aamir Khan and Salman Khan demonstrated their versatility in the cult film Andaz Apna Apna by acing their respective comic roles. Amar and Prem, the underappreciated slapstick duo, have a special place in our hearts thanks to their hilarious banter. “Amar wo dekh teri bhabi… “Shaadi karne waala hai, Madhuri Dixit?” Hahaha!
6) Kader Khan and Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar as Raja and Kader Khan as Badri Prasad lock horns in Mr. and Mrs. Khiladi, with a dose of humour, is one of the best duo performances to date. This sasur-damaad jodi was a comedy firework. Also, the scenes in Mujhse Shaadi Karogi starring Akshay Kumar and Kader Khan were hilarious.
7) Rajpal Yadav and Paresh Rawal
The iconic comedy jodi of Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav as Gundya and Bandya in Chup Chup Ke completely overshadowed the leads. A funny scene occurred when both of them were attempting to figure out where Jeetu was. “Ummm…bori…ummm…bori,” Paresh said. “Tu bata ab bandar ke baare mein.” Rajpal also impersonated a monkey. Remember?
8) Sanjay Dutt and Govinda
Govinda and Sanjay Dutt’s hilarious chemistry in films like Haseena Maan Jayegi and Jodi No.1 was all about two cool dudes making us laugh. Could we please have the Sonu-Monu and Jai-Veeru jodis back?
9) Utpal Dutt and Amol Palekar
The final comedy duo I would like to mention is Amol Palekar and Utpal Dutt’s jodi. Bhavani Shankar’s obsession with mustaches and Laxman Prasad’s practical joke of introducing his twin in GolMaal were comic content that I still watch. Comedy erupted when these polar opposites shared screen time. Other comedies by this duo include Naram Garam, Rang Birangi, and a few others.
Of course, there are numerous other comedy duos that I could not include on this list. Here are a few more examples: Govinda-Satish Kaushik, Kader Khan-Shakti Kapoor, Akshay Kumar-Suniel Shetty, Govinda-Johnny Lever, and Akshay Kumar-John Abraham are some of the actors who have worked together.
So, which duo is your favorite?
