When Priyadarshan announced he is stepping away from comedy films: ‘Ridiculed and not taken seriously’

In 1997, shortly after the release of his Mohanlal-starrer Chandralekha, Priyadarshan announced that it would be his final full-fledged comedy.

Priyadarshan once contemplated stepping away from comedy films entirely. (Express archive photo)

By: Entertainment Desk

Kochi | March 10, 2025 06:55 PM IST

3 min read

One of the most accomplished and influential directors in Indian cinema, Priyadarshan has gifted the film industry with several timeless movies, besides playing a key role in shaping the careers of stars like Mohanlal and Akshay Kumar. Although he has explored various genres over the years, comedy has remained his forte, with several of his films — such as Mazha Peyyunnu Maddalam Kottunnu (1986), Thalavattam (1986), Vellanakalude Nadu (1988), Chithram (1988), Vandanam (1989), Kilukkam (1991), Hera Pheri (2000), Hungama (2003), Hulchul (2004), Garam Masala (2005) and Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2008) — widely regarded as some of the finest comedies in Indian cinema.

However, did you know that Priyadarshan once contemplated stepping away from comedy films entirely? Yes, you heard that right. In 1997, shortly after the release of his Mohanlal-starrer Chandralekha, he announced that it would be his final full-fledged comedy. While he acknowledged that his future projects might still feature humour, Priyadarshan declared that he had lost interest in making pure comedies. This decision came despite Chandralekha being a box-office blockbuster. “Chandralekha will be my last comedy film. Hereafter, my films will have humour but no comedy. I am not interested in comedy any more. I just wanted to make one comedy and prove to people that I still can make one and make it successfully,” he shared during a chat with Rediff in 1997.

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This was also the period when Priyadarshan transitioned to making more serious films such as Kaalapani (1996), Virasat (1997), Saat Rang Ke Sapne (1998), Kabhi Na Kabhi (1998) and Doli Saja Ke Rakhna (1998). Reflecting on this shift, he said: “However good the comedies are, nobody will accept a good comedy director as a good director. That is the sad part of it. Nobody knows who directed the Laurel and Hardy movies. They know only Laurel and Hardy. Directors will never get a good name if they direct a comedy film.”

“But it is the most difficult thing to do — to make people laugh. After laughing a lot, they (the critics) will brush aside the film as ‘just another comedy’. I felt bad when I learnt I was not taken seriously and ridiculed, even after all those hits,” he remarked, suggesting that film critics had largely been unfair to him. “Most of them hide their faces and laugh a lot but they criticise the films later on. They feel that if they appreciate a comedy, they may become intellectually inferior.”

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In fact, during the same conversation, Priyadarshan also expressed his desire to blend arthouse aesthetics with commercial filmmaking. “I’m trying to make films in my own formula. I am trying to build a bridge between an Adoor Gopalakrishnan movie and an Amitabh Bachchan action film. Yes, my canvas is commercial, but in a new, different format. It may look like an art film, at the same time the content is that of a commercial film. A shot of Shyam Benegal inspires me a lot. I wonder why a film of David Dhawan cannot have a shot like that.”

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