Comedy is not everyone’s cup of tea. In fact, if we talk about films, it is the hardest genre that any actor can do justice to. Fortunately, Hindi cinema is proud to have several comedians that make the audience laugh out loud with their jokes. Veteran entertainers like Johnny Walker, Mehmood, I.S. Johar, Rajendra Nath, Kader Khan, Rajpal Yadav, Paresh Rawal, and Johnny Lever left us in splits with their comic timing.
And when most of these comedians collaborated with each other, the duos multiplied entertainment by 100 times what they could provide alone. In other words, comedy duos = double laugh riot.
If Hollywood boasts of Laurel and Hardy or Joey and Chandler, Bollywood gave us these 9 comedy duos that we desis grew up watching:
1. Govinda and Kader Khan
Govinda and Kader Khan’s camaraderie in films like Coolie No.1, Raja Babu, Aankhen, Joru Ka Ghulam to name a few, was top-notch. Be it pitting against each other as dhaba owner and business tycoon in Dulhe Raja to being the cutest father and son-duo in Hero No.1, they aced it all.
2. Akshay Kumar and Paresh Rawal
Raise your hand if you know Raju and Baburao’s dialogues during this scene in Hera Pheri. “Utha le”….”arey aise kaise utha loon…40-50 kilo ki toh hogi hi.” And just like this, the Akshay Kumar-Paresh Rawal-duo also entertained us in Phir Hera Pheri, Welcome, Awara Paagal Deewana, Bhagam Bhag, Deewane Huye Paagal and more.
3. Sunil Dutt and Kishore Kumar
Sunil Dutt and Kishore Kumar’s jodi as Bhola and Vidyapathi in the classic movie, Padosan has no competition. While the entire paltan was super fun, Bhola and his Guru were truly the iconic comedy duo. Remember when Vidyapathi was trying to teach singing to Bhola? Need I say more?
4. Johnny Lever and Paresh Rawal
Paresh Rawal as Manilal teasing Chh…Chh…Chota Chhatri (Johnny Lever’s character) in Awara Paagal Deewana was the double dhamaal the two veteran comedians created together. “Chhatri waalo che!” Remember? And how can anyone forget Baburao and Munnabhai’s shenanigans in Phir Hera Pheri?
5. Aamir Khan and Salman Khan
With Andaz Apna Apna, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan proved their versatility, as both of them aced their respective comic roles in the cult film. Amar and Prem, the underrated slapstick duo that they are, has a special place in our hearts for their hilarious banter. “Ae Amar wo dekh teri bhabi…tu Madhuri Dixit se shaadi karne waala hai?” Hahaha!
6. Akshay Kumar and Kader Khan
Akshay Kumar as Raja and Kader Khan’s character, Badri Prasad, locking horns with each other in Mr. and Mrs. Khiladi, with a dose of humour is amongst the best duo performances to date. This sasur-damaad jodi was a firecracker of comedy. Also, Akshay Kumar and Kader Khan’s scenes in Mujhse Shaadi Karogi were hilarious AF.
7. Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav
Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav’s iconic comedy jodi as Gundya and Bandya in Chup Chup Ke totally overshadowed the leads. Special mention to a funny scene when both of them were trying to guess Jeetu’s whereabouts. Paresh was like: “Ummm…bori…ummm…bori. ab bandar ke baare mein tu bata.” And Rajpal literally imitated a monkey. Remember?
8. Govinda and Sanjay Dutt
Govinda and Sanjay Dutt’s hilarious camaraderie in films like Haseena Maan Jayegi and Jodi No.1 respectively was all about two cool dudes giving us doses of laughter. Can we have these Sonu-Monu and Jai-Veeru jodis back?
9. Amol Palekar and Utpal Dutt
Amol Palekar and Utpal Dutt’s jodi is the last comedy duo that I want to conclude my list with. Bhavani Shankar’s moustache obsession and Laxman Prasad’s practical joke of introducing his twin in Gol Maal was a comic content that I still subscribe to. When these opposites shared screen space, comedy erupted. This duo also gave other hilarious comedies like Naram Garam, Rang Birangi, and a few more.
Of course, there are many other comedy duos that I couldn’t add to the list. Here are some more: Govinda-Satish Kaushik, Kader Khan-Shakti Kapoor, Akshay Kumar-Suniel Shetty, Govinda-Johnny Lever, and Akshay Kumar-John Abraham.
So, which duo do you like the most?
