Comedy in Indian cinema was once serious business. Even doyens like Dilip Kumar did capers like Kohinoor and Ram Aur Shyam to prove that they could elicit guffaws as easily as tears. The scene in Kohinoor when Dilip Kumar fools a drunk Jeevan and plays musical high tens  in Meena Kumari’s boudoir mirror is a classic. The scene had a spin-off in Manmohan Desai’s Amar Akbar Anthony where a sloshed Amitabh Bachchan plasters Band Aid on his own reflection! Comedy then was a respected genre that big stars often experimented with. Dev Anand did it in Munim Jee. Sunil Dutt played an image-shattering village bumpkin in Padosan. Shammi Kapoor built his initial success on romantic comedies. Raj Kapoor’s career mascot was Chaplin’s goofy oaf. And in the 70s, top stars loved to frequent Hrishikesh Mukherjee gentle, homely comedies. Dharmendra did a cameo in Mukhrejee’s Guddi and then outdid himself as the inimitable, Hindi spouting Pyaare Mohan in Chupke Chupke. He was excellent in Pratigya and his comic scenes in Sholay remain the high-points of his career. Sanjeev Kumar brought the house down in hits like Manchali, Angoor and Pati Patni Aur Woh. Rajesh Khanna proved his comic credentials in Bawarchi, Joru Ka Ghulam but most memorably in Anand. Amitabh Bachchan’s Angry Young Man laughed a lot too in his prime. No one can forget his egg splitting Anthony Gonzalves. Or his attempts to catch an errant fly in Namak Halal as he slaps bald heads around a conference table. Or his “Vijay Hazare told Vijay Merchant’’ monologue or his claims of “I can walk English, I can talk English!” Or his Haryanavi pop wisdom in the song `Pag Ghungroo bandh Meera Nachi Thi.’’ His drunken turn in Satte Pe Satta when he is describing his six brothers to a wily Amzad Khan. Or when he is reeling off Dharmendra’s sterling qualities before a stunned Leela Misra in Sholay. Or when he is beating a bunch of goons with utmost courtesy in Sharaabi to get his belongings back. Laughter lost its punch with the decline of the cinematic greats of the 80s. Manmohan Desai died after regaling us with his indescribable genius for slapstick and situational stunts in Dharam Veer, Parvarish, Chacha Bhatija, Amar Akbar Anthony and more. An occasional Andaz Apna Apna notwithstanding, it was Govinda who emerged as the leading comic talent of the early nineties. He was spontaneous. Mad. Spoofing greats like Sanjeev Kumar, Dilip Kumar, Rajesh Khanna. Adlibbing. Creating nonsense into an art in runaway hits like Aankhen, Hero No I and Haseena Maan Jayegi but it was all considered low art by critics. Perhaps because Govinda unlike the comic heroes before him did not have star quality. He remained within the parameters of a slightly risqué, a little bawdy and a little over-the-top cinema and refused to work outside his clique of trusted film-makers, most notably David Dhawan. Today, even Dhawan uses actors like Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan who bring a manic energy and glamour to comedy. But comedy is no longer given the respect it deserves. Even a massive hit like Munnabhai MBBS is not considered for top awards. Saif Ali Khan is always nominated as an afterthought despite a Hum Tum. Comedy is now the last refuge of directors who milk double entendre to make a quick buck. Cases in point? Masti. Kya Cool Hain Hum. Bach Ke Rehna Re Baba. An occasional flash of genuine humour surprises us in films like Dil Chahta Hai, Hum Tum, Khosla Ka Ghosla and Bheja Fry. The Munna Bhai series and Shaad Ali’s Bunty and Babli are important chapters in contemporary Hindi cinema. The latter marks the return of the pure comedy celebrating the witty turn of phrase, madness and unadulterated joy without once stooping to vulgarity. Watch Amitabh Bachchan recount his doomed love affair to an attentive Abhishek while `Dil Cheez Kya Hai’ from Umrao Jaan plays cheekily in the background. Or Babli going “Mummyyyyy’’ in a fit of melancholy while Bunty looks embarrassed and ineffectually tries to pat her hand. Or when a domesticated Babli cries to AB in desperation, “If I make mango pickle one more time, I will die!” Shaad Ali crowds his colourful canvas with cinematic allusions, playing old film songs in key situations, giving witty one-liners to all characters, allowing them to feel the pulse of the film and let themselves go. Most importantly, the film reminds us what great fun it is to go to the movies. And what a wonderful thing laughter can be. Too bad, Shaad followed it up with Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. We are still recovering from that one.