Jul 16, 2026 5:30pm IST
‘Bhooth Bangla,’ ‘Welcome To The Jungle,’ ‘Dhamaal 4’: Comedy Makes a Roaring Comeback in 2026 (EXCLUSIVE)
After the success of “Dhurandhar 2” and “Border 2,” it was predicted that 2026 would be the year of big-screen action spectacles. However, the box office witnessed a major turnaround with the consecutive success of comedy films, including “Bhooth Bangla”, “Welcome To The Jungle” and “Dhamaal 4.”
The triumph of comedy films came as a pleasant surprise, even as several films in this genre, including “Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon 2”, “Mastiii 4” and “Son Of Sardaar 2”, tanked at the box office in 2025.
Ahmed Khan, who directed “Welcome To The Jungle,” explains that it's all about the demand. “The public wants it. Once upon a time, people were only interested in romance. Some time back, it was all about action. The audience gets bored of one genre from time to time. Now it’s all about comedy, so we are making these films. We are keeping up with the demand from the audience.”
Arshad Warsi, who is known for his solid punchlines and witty one-liners, was part of both blockbusters “Welcome To The Jungle” and “Dhamaal 4” explains that while some worlds overlap, others exist on entirely different planets. “If I talk about ‘Welcome’ and ‘Dhamaal,’ there are a lot of similarities. They're pretty much in the same genre of comedy. ‘Golmaal’ is slightly different because those characters are distinct, highly identified, and behave in a very specific, stylized way,” he shares.
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Filmmaker Anees Bazmee, the man behind cult comedies like “Welcome,” “No Entry” and “Ready,” among others, says that comedy films are a happy escape from stress and sadness. About why he enjoys making comedy films, he shares, “I feel that people face a lot of stress in their daily lives. I want people to forget their problems in real life and enjoy for three hours with our comedy films.”
With Ayushmann Khurrana’s “Udta Teer” and Anupam Kher’s “Khosla Ka Ghosla 2” arriving later this year, the comedy genre is expected to spread more joy this year.
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