It was nice to recall the past when action, romance, and comedy dominated the box office. But not anymore in this new year. In 2024, the first blockbuster we saw was Shaitaan, about a supernatural aspect. This hit was later succeeded by Munjya and the never before seen success of Stree 2, both of which were comedy horror. Now its time, all are turning towards Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, which is the first big film of the Diwali period and belongs to the same category as Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Ram Charan starrer. We spoke to trade experts on this aspect.
With respect to the current trend in the Indian film industry, are horror comedies in vogue? asked veteran Taran Adarsh, He says “Yes. This year has been a rocking year for the horror and horror comedies and supernatural thrillers as well. This thriller genre was lapped up in the 70s and 80s when the Ramsays and Mohan Bhakri used to make those horror films. Ram Gopal Varma did make some memorable films but very few filmmakers took the liberty of attempting films in this genre.
So did Girish Johar the producer and film business analyst; “Horror films, since Veerana (1988) and even before have been working and are one of the most lucrative genres in terms of ROI. With time, it got more light and miticulous aspects like music, and things like that got added to it. A certain amount of innovation has taken place in this genre with a movie like Go Goa Gone (2013) for example.”
He gave one reason why horror comedies do so well: ‘People like to get scared also and they love to laugh as well. Because if there?s excessive horror, you do end up laughing, you do actually end up laughing the end. In particular, the Hindi films involve lots of commercial flavours too like music, characters, layers of storytelling, etc. not to mention, it also adds Hindi film ingredients as well.
So, for trade analyst Atul Mohan horror and horror comedy is a pan Indian subject.
He said, “This is not only the flavour of the season, but it is also the flavour of the nation! The movie business came back to life after the pandemic with Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (2022). Shaitaan, Munjya, and Stree 2 were the good performers…” Last year, a movie titled 1920: Horrors of the Heart alone earned a jaw dropping 25 crore rupees, whereas the production cost was just six crores. Even Gippy Grewal’s Jatt Nuu Chudail Takri (2024) managed to become a hit. So even the biggest Gujarati hit of 2024 Jhamkudi is also a horror comedy. In Marathi Alyad Palyad too got footfalls that came in the year 2024. Which is why everywhere one finds this genre working big time.”
While Taran Adarsh added, “Lest we also remind, even Tumbbad in its re-release has surprised a lot of people.” It only goes on to prove that there’s an audience for it and I think it’s a very good trend. Distributor and exhibitor Raj Bansal disagreed, “I don’t think (it is the flavour of the season) though four films that have worked in this season belong to this genre – Munjya, Stree 2, Shaitaan and Tumbbad. The latter is in fact the best performing re-released films. There’s something about this genre that they have suddenly started liking.”
“It’s something they’ve always loved but now, they love it even more.”
Akshay Kumar dives into the horror comedy
Talking more about the genre, Atul Mohan also said, “The craze has gone to such an extent that even Akshay Kumar has declared a horror comedy.” Priyadarshan’s Bhooth Bangla will feature the actor and trade believes this film can change the trend for him at the box office.
Atul added, “He’s back with his favourite director with whom he has delivered so many hits. Also, the genre is in vogue.”
Girish Johar explained, “Akshay Kumar’s recent films haven’t worked. But his films with Priyadarshan got him into a different league in 2000 with Hera Pheri. Hence, he’s coming back with his earlier gold charm & by making an announcement on his birthday he made it very auspicious and special. It all depends on the storytelling and jokes are bang on target and not out of date. It’ll come in 2025 and I wish the horrro comedy will still be worth it. The reason being even the flavour of the season also have a time span. So, I hope rather than that it gives something new to the audience because the combination of these two people Akshay Kumar and Priyadarshan is lethal.”
Raj Bansal, on the other hand, said, “It’s too early to say.”
