Ask the Golmaal Again cast about what the upcoming film has in store, and they’ll remain tight-lipped. They aren’t wrong in pointing out that audiences flock to theatres not for a promised plot, but for Gopal, Lucky, Madhav and Laxman – Golmaal’s protagonists whose names are combined to make the series’ title. With the fourth film’s release just around the corner, actors Arshad Warsi, Parineeti Chopra and Kunal Khemu talk to The Hindu about what makes the comedy franchise so widely successful.
The Golmaal series is amongst the highest grossing film franchises from Bollywood along with Farhan Akhtar’s Don action-thrillers and the buddy-cop Dhoom trilogy. Talking about how the franchise has survived over a decade since Golmaal: Fun Unlimited, the series’ first instalment which released in 2006, the actors seem to be on the same page. Warsi and Chopra pin the series’ success on the love audiences have for its characters. “You just want to see those characters. It’s like Mr. Bean,” elaborates Warsi. “He could be in any country, doing anything, but we are going to watch [him] anyway!”
Khemu also draws attention to the role of television in enabling the films’ popularity: “I think the [film’s success] is guaranteed by the kind of run it has on satellite [TV]. Even after seven years, Golmaal 3 is playing on some or the other channel every other week.” He then adds, “That makes you believe there is a market out there for something like this.” It isn’t surprising then, that as the cast’s youngest member, Chopra herself watched the first Golmaal film as a 12th grader.
“I never thought I would be an actor,” she admits. “But when I became a part of the Golmaal gang I was honestly star-struck! Now they are my friends, and I can be myself in front of them.”
This time the film will explore the horror-comedy genre, and Warsi is the only one who shares a slight peek into Golmaal Again. “Every part [before this one] there would be a mention of one Jamnadas anath ashram [orphanage]. We are finally showing it!” he shares before adding, “I am also looking forward to seeing the smaller [and younger] versions of all of us.”
None of the three actors were new to comedies when they joined the Golmaal franchise. While Chopra has essayed roles in numerous romantic comedies like Shuddh Desi Romance (2013) and Hasee Toh Phasee (2014), Khemu had starred in the heist-comedy 99 (2009) and Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge (2009) before joining the Golmaal 3 (2010) cast. Warsi, whose portrayal of Circuit in Munnabhai M.B.B.S (2003) was already popular, admits that he was initially unsure of whether director Rohit Shetty would pull off Golmaal: Fun Unlimited (2006).
At the time, Shetty had only directed Zameen (2003), an action-thriller which starred Ajay Devgn in one of the lead roles. Devgn went on to act in the Golmaal series along with a number of Shetty’s other directorial ventures. “I was not sure about Rohit and how he’d be as a director because he was an action film director,” shares Warsi. “But I knew Ajay was there [in Golmaal’s cast] and I have faith in Ajay.”
While the second and third installments saw Kareena Kapoor joining the gang, the actor will not be reprising her role for Golmaal Again, owing to her pregnancy during the making of the film as Warsi shares. “Another aspect is that we needed an actress who was visibly and obviously very young. In the film it is very clear that Parineeti is the youngest one,” explains Warsi.
Considering most of the all-male cast had already bonded over the last three films, one wonders how Chopra became a part of the team. “Yes, it happens to be a boy gang, but we are cast because of whatever we bring to the table,” she asserts. “I felt very comfortable with them in the film and even off-screen, and I think I was a part of this boy gang,” she says beaming.
While the three say that critics’ opinions don’t guide their choices and performances in the franchise, Golmaal 3 had faced some ire on its release. Actor Shreyas Talpade’s character, Laxman, had a stammer, but the representation was considered offensive by The Indian Stammering Association (TISA). “The idea is to get as many people to come, watch the film, and enjoy it,” says Khemu. “But if unintentionally [somebody has been offended] then we have tried to correct that mistake.”
Warsi’s take on the issue is different: “In India people take objections to anything. It’s a land of objections. He doesn’t stammer anymore.” The actor then laughs and adds, “He lisps!”
