Arshad Warsi laments state of Bollywood comedy, calls it ‘sad, unoriginal, chichori’

Arshad Warsi has said that Bollywood comedy writers often source material from the internet. “I feel comedy has become very ‘chichori’” he said.

It is hard to imagine the Munna Bhai series (2003 and 2007) without Circuit. And undoubtedly, the credit to make this character a household name goes to Arshad Warsi. The actor, who won the hearts of the audiences with his comic timing and dialogue delivery, has clearly carved a niche for himself in the industry and especially in the genre of comedy. Even though Arshad has been a part of the industry for almost three decades now, things took a turn for the good in the recent years. Ever since his portrayal of Circuit in Munna Bhai MBBS (2003), he has done a number of films, but almost all of them in the same genre — comedy.

Actor Arshad Warsi during the promotions of his upcoming film Pagalpanti.(IANS)

Ask him if he was at any point nervous of being typecast, and he says, “No body offers me anything apart from comedy. I have been here in the industry for a while now and I really don’t care of being typecast. I am going on and on and I won’t stop. It really doesn’t matter to me.” He further adds that actors should not be worried about being typecast, but about their acting skills. “I think an actor should have a problem only if he/she doesn’t know how to act. If you know how to act, you should never worry about being typecast. As long as they are casting you it’s fine,” he says, adding, “Think of a person who would is not good at comedy, but his first two movies are a hit by chance. He is the one who has to worry of getting typecast and think, ‘Mein toh Bruce Lee bannne aaya that yeh kya hogaya, chuslee hogaya’. ”

Bollywood actors John Abraham, Anil Kapoor, Arshad Warsi, Pulkit Samrat pose during the song launch of their upcoming comedy film Pagalpanti in Mumbai. (PTI)

Arshad, who has been a part of multi starrer movies too, will be next seen in Anees Bazmee’s Pagalpanti. The Golmaal (2008) actor says that he loves working with and ensemble cast. “I enjoy ensemble cast. As an audience if I am going to the theatre to watch such a film, I would love to see so many people for the same price (laughs). As an actor and an audience it is a wonderful thing. However, as a writer or a director it is bit more challenging to justify so many actors and still give them their space.”

What does he think of the current state of comedy in Bollywood? He says, “I am sorry to say this, but it has become worse. There are very few writers who write original comedy. Most of them source it straight from the internet, which is just sad. Besides, I feel comedy has become very ‘chichori’. That is another aspect which I wish wasn’t like that. You should write more intelligent comedy. I wish we had done better. Instead of working harder, we have become very convenient.”

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