Bollywood: Horror comedy movies like ‘Street 2’

IMDb Rating: 6.6

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 71 percent

director: Krishna DK, Raj Nidimoru

cast: Saif Ali Khan, Kunal Kemmel, Vir Das, Anand Tiwari

Movie duration: 1 hr 51 min

Synopsis: Two friends, Hardik (Khem) and Luv (Das), are going through a difficult time in their lives. Hardik has lost his job and Luv has broken up with his girlfriend. To cheer themselves up, the two go on a holiday to Goa with his roommate Bunny (Tiwari). Soon, the two find themselves stranded on a zombie-infested island. Along with other survivors, including an alleged Russian gangster, Boris (Khan), the two try to make it to the mainland, only to find it too has been overrun by zombies.

Why it’s great: The film isn’t as witty or smart as some of Hollywood’s zombie horror comedies, but there’s enough gory thrills and humor to satisfy all but the most discerning movie fans, and the fantastic locations provide an intriguing backdrop to all this mayhem.

IMDb Rating: 6.7

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 62 percent

director: Amar Kaushik

cast: Varun Dhawan, Kriti Sanon, Abhishek Banerjee, Parin Kabak

Movie duration: 2 hr 36 min

Synopsis: Bhaskar (Dhawan), a road worker, travels with his cousin Janardhan (Banerjee) to Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India for a massive construction project that involves the felling of large amounts of trees. One night, he is bitten on the buttocks by a wolf and transformed into a werewolf. Forced to hide his condition, he is told that the local “Yapum” legend has come true. Together with Janardhan, his new vet acquaintance Anika (Sanon) and his liaison officer Jomin (Kabak), Bhaskar embarks on a frightening yet hilarious adventure to solve the mystery.

Why it’s great: Bhediya It has a social message about environmentalism and sustainability, but thankfully doesn’t come across as too preachy, and once you get over the inherent silliness of the premise, there’s plenty to laugh at here.

IMDb Rating: 6.7

Rotten Tomatoes rating: N/A

director: Pawan Kripalani

cast: Saif Ali Khan, Arjun Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Yami Gautam

Movie duration: 2 hr 9 min

Synopsis: Brothers Vibhuti (Khan) and Chiranji (Kapoor) pose as professional paranormal investigators and ghost hunters but are in reality con artists who perform fake exorcisms to extract money from gullible people. They are hired by a woman named Maya Kulbhushan (Gautam) to exorcise an evil spirit named Kikhkandi that is terrorizing the workers in her father’s tea estate. To their surprise, the ghost is real. Will the brothers be able to find a way out of the situation?

Why it’s great: This is one of those films where the actors make the script look smarter than it actually is, and while I’m still not convinced by Kapoor’s acting skills, Khan and Kapoor work together really well.

IMDb Rating: 7.2

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 56 percent

director: Aditya Sarpotdar

cast: Sharvari, Abhay Verma, Mona Singh

Movie duration: 2 hr 3 min

Synopsis: Bittu (Verma) is a shy young man who loves his childhood sweetheart Bela (Sharvari) but is too timid to propose marriage. To make matters worse, he is possessed by an evil spirit that lives in a sacred fig tree. Decades ago, Munja was once a boy who, just like Bittu, died trying to win the love of his life, Munni, using black magic. Now, Munja wants Bittu to help him marry Munni, who, in a twist of fate, is Bela’s grandmother.

Why it’s great: Like many other horror comedies, Munja The film falls far short of its potential, and it also commits the genre’s most cardinal sin: a horror comedy can’t work without strong elements of both horror and comedy. Munja’s spirit is more about fun than it is about genuine horror. But despite its flaws, Munja It offers pretty decent entertainment value.

IMDb Rating: 7.4

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 33 percent

director: Priyadarshan

cast: Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Shiney Ahuja, Ameesha Patel, Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Nauran Yadav, Manoj Joshi

Movie duration: 2 hr 39 min

Synopsis: Newly married couple Siddharth (Ahuja) and Avni (Bhalan) move into Siddharth’s ancestral home. Siddharth’s uncle Badrinarayan (Joshi) protests, claiming that it is haunted by the vengeful spirit of a Bengali dancer named Manjulika. When unexplained occurrences start occurring, Badrinarayan’s innocence seems to be vindicated. However, Siddharth suspects that Radha (Patel), his childhood friend who had a crush on him, may have something to do with the “ghost”. He invites his psychiatrist friend Aditya (Kumar) to cure her ailments. But when supernatural entities are involved, can a scientist like Aditya really do anything?

Why it’s great: A remake of a Malayalam film. Manichitrathas The horror-comedy appeal of (1993) is mainly centered on the revelation of the truth behind the big incident at the end, and frankly, the rest of the story is pretty tepid. But Kumar’s performance and several comical characters, especially Chhote Pandit (Yadav) and Batukshankar Upadhyay (Rawal), make it an enjoyable film from start to finish. Though it does have its creepy moments, it is actually a complete comedy.

IMDb Rating: 7.5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 79 percent

director: Amar Kaushik

cast: Rajkummal Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Abhishek Banerjee, Aparshakti Khurana

Movie duration: 2 hr 8 min

Synopsis: In the town of Chanderi, men live in fear of an angry female ghost called Stree, which means “woman” in Hindi. Apparently, Stree kidnaps men and never sees them again, so the men don’t go out at night. A tailor, Vicky (Rao), befriends a beautiful girl (Kapoor), but she’s a bit odd, having kidnapped one of Vicky’s friends, Janna (Banerjee). Vicky teams up with his friends Rudra (Tripathi) and Bittu (Khurrana) to find Janna and defeat Stree – if they can. The story is loosely based on the Naale Bagh legend from Karnataka.

Why it’s great: Street It cleverly flips the story on its head by highlighting the fears women face when they go out alone at night. In the film, men find themselves living in constant fear. The acting is superb. The sequels are great, but the original feels uniquely fresh. It also offers some good laughs. There’s been a lot of murders in the building. It’s full of energy, mostly funny and upbeat, but with just a few dark moments.

IMDb Rating: 7.5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: N/A

director: Vishal Bharadwaj

cast: Shabana Azmi, Makrand Deshpande, Shweta Basu Prasad

Movie duration: 1 hr 30 min

Synopsis: Somewhere in North India, the inhabitants of a village live in fear of a 100-year-old witch called Makudee (Azmi). Legend has it that if you enter her, you will come out as an animal. A mischievous girl named Chunni (Prasad) lives with her twin sister Munni, who she often dresses as. One day, she plays a prank on the local butcher Kalu (Deshpande), putting Chunni in danger. Will she be able to save her sister from the witch’s clutches?

Why it’s great: Incredibly, this film was the directorial debut of Bharadwaj, who went on to direct a groundbreaking and daring Shakespeare adaptation set in India. Maqbool (2004), Omkara (2006) and Hider (2014). Again, his distinctive touch – his keen observation of detail, his deep understanding of the human condition and his unique way of telling a story – are all on display.

IMDb Rating: 7.8

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 67 percent

director: Amar Kaushik

cast: Rajkummal Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana

Movie duration: 2 hr 27 min

Synopsis: Instant setup Street (2018), a new threat is introduced to the townsfolk of Chanderi – a headless creature who abducts women into another dimension. Vicky (Rao) misses his girlfriend (Kapoor) and dreams about her. But all hell breaks loose when his friend Bittu’s (Khurrana) girlfriend becomes the headless ghost’s latest target. Vicky, Bittu and Rudra (Tripathi) decide that they need Stry’s help to defeat the headless ghost, who they call ‘Sarkata’.

Why it’s great: Street 2 It’s got big ideas but struggles to execute them properly, but the performances from Rao and Tripathi, along with a strong supporting cast, make it a lot of fun.