Veteran actor Raveena Tandon shares her perspective on the evolving landscape of comedy, stating that making people laugh today without causing offense is a significant challenge. She contrasts this with the uninhibited and instinctive humour prevalent in 90s Bollywood cinema.
Key Points
Raveena Tandon finds making people laugh without offense "the ultimate tightrope walk" today.
She recalls 90s comedy as uninhibited, innocent, and unapologetic, driven by instinct.
Filmmakers now second-guess jokes due to fear of social media debates and internet clips.
Raveena returned to comedy with "Welcome to the Jungle," reuniting with Akshay Kumar.
90s Comedy: Uninhibited & Instinctive
Actor Raveena Tandon , who has been part of several seminal Bollywood comedies, has said that humour in the 90s was uninhibited and unapologetic, while today it is difficult to replicate that in movies, as one never knows what will trigger a social media debate.
“Making people laugh without someone getting offended is probably the ultimate tightrope walk today, it is tough… In the 90s, there was an uninhibited, innocent, and totally unapologetic madness to our films. Chi Chi ( Govinda ) and I would react purely on instinct. We weren’t overthinking how a joke would look on a 15-second internet clip or if a line would trigger a social media debate. That raw, purely character-driven, loud-and-proud humour of the 90s is rare now because filmmakers are constantly second-guessing themselves. We’ve become a bit too cautious, and comedy desperately needs freedom to breathe,” the actor told PTI in an interview.
Modern Humour: The Tightrope Walk
Raveena recently returned to comedy with Ahmed Khan’s Welcome to the Jungle, a multi-starrer comedy that reunited her with her Mohra co-stars Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty.
“Comedy taught me spontaneity, improvisation, and the importance of losing all inhibitions on screen. It is an incredibly giving genre; if you can successfully make people laugh, they keep you in their hearts forever. Returning to it now with ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ feels like coming home to a room full of old friends,” the actor added.
Raveena’s Return to Comedy
The new instalment, directed by Ahmed Khan, is doing well at the box office and has already earned over ₹ 100 crore worldwide since its release last Friday.
The film boasts a large ensemble cast, including Paresh Rawal, Johnny Lever, Rajpal Yadav, Arshad Warsi, Tusshar Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade, Aftab Shivdasani, Jackie Shroff, Daler Mehndi, Mika Singh, Lara Dutta, Jacqueline Fernandez, Disha Patani, Urvashi Rautela, Farida Jalal, Krushna Abhishek, Mukesh Tiwari, Yashpal Sharma, Vindu Dara Singh, Kiran Kumar, and Zakir Hussain
Raveena’s insights highlight a noticeable shift in comedic expression, emphasizing the freedom artists once enjoyed versus the current cautious approach. Her return to the genre signifies a hopeful embrace of its enduring power to connect with audiences.
