When Gol Maal inspired Golmaal

Going by the reviews, Rohit Shetty's All The Best is the best pick from among the other two Diwali releases -- Blue and Main Aurr Mrs Khanna.

The comedy starring Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt, Fardeen Khan, Bipasha Basu and Mugdha Godse, though inane, was lapped up by the audience. And credit for this goes to its director -- Rohit Shetty, the man behind the Golmaal series.

So what inspires the director? Nithya Ramani finds out as the director lists his favourite comedy films.

Gol Maal
Director: Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Cast: Amol Palekar, Utpal Dutt and Dina Pathak

Though I have made a film with the same title, the original is the best. I just love the film for what it is. The idea of mistaken identity came from the film. The scenes where Amol Palekar's character Ram Prasad changes to Laxman Prasad and vice versa is hilarious, and one of my favourites.

There is a point when he feels that everything has gone out of this hand and he feels helpless. Generally at this time, you only feel sorry for the character and it is supposed to be serious. But here it was very funny.

I also liked Utpal Dutt's performance, and his fetish for people with mustaches. The noise -- eesshh -- which he makes when he hears bad news is hilarious.

I loved Dina Pathak's character too. She plays the mother that Amol never had. The scene where she tries to squeeze through a small window when Utpal Dutt becomes suspicious of her is so funny.
Also, the climax scene where Utpal Dutt is caught by the police for violating traffic rules is hilarious.

The most important thing about this film is its simplicity and the fact that it's still funny today as it was then. This movie tops my list of favourite comedies.

Image: A scene from Gol Maal