A light-hearted comedy is one of the best antidotes to stress and so this World Laughter Day, (May 7), we  pick some rib-tickling entertainers for you to enjoy with your family.

Thank God

This 2022 Indra Kumar directorial starring Sidharth Malhotra, Ajay Devgn, and Rakul Preet Singh revolves around an intriguing ‘Game of Life’ played between Chitragupt or CG (Ajay) and Ayaan Kapoor (Sidharth). Ayaan who is deep in a debt of Rs 16 crores lands up in heaven after a  car accident. There, he is questioned and evaluated by CG for his deeds on Earth and the exchange is laced with both wisdom and comedy. ‘Thank God' was jointly produced by Anand Pandit, Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Ashok Thakeria, Sunir Kheterpal, Deepak Mukut, and Markand Adhikari and also stars Kiara Khanna, Seema Pahwa and Kanwaljit Singh in lead roles. It is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

Chachi 420

Inspired by Hollywood hit , 'Mrs Doubtfire', this 1997 comedy was the Hindi version of Tamil film, 'Avvai Shanmugi.' Both were written and directed by Tamil superstar Kamal Haasan. In the Hindi version, Kamal Haasan plays Jai, a caring father who  changes his appearance to take care of his daughter and to spend time with her after a bitter marital separation He disguises himself as Lakshmi chachi and becomes a caretaker in his wife, Janki's (Tabu) house. What follows is a hilarious situational comedy as 'Lakshmi' struggles to keep ‘her’ real identity hidden from others. Gulzar's witty dialogues and lyrics are an added bonus. The family entertainer also stars Paresh Rawal, Amrish Puri, Johnny Walker and Ayesha Jhulka. ‘Chachi 420’ can be watched on YouTube and Amazon Prime.

Hera Pheri

 This 2000 Priyadarshan directorial has gone on to become a cult hit and the struggles of three middle-class men have generated  some of the most popular catch phrases and punchlines that fans till date use in daily conversations. Set in Mumbai, the movie revolves around the  lives of Ghanshyam/ Shyam (Suniel Shetty) and Rajesh Rathod/ Raju (Akshay Kumar), and a garage owner Babu Bhaiya (Paresh Rawal). Their harebrained  scheme to carry out a kidnapping for ransom  leads to hilarious consequences and what follows is sheer mayhem. 'Hera Pheri', produced by A G Nadiadwala also stars Tabu and Gulshan Grover. It is currently available on Prime Video, Voot, and MX player.

Doctor G

This 2022 directorial debut of Anubhuti Kashyap, is a fantastic comedy set in a government hospital where medical interns  discover the many challenges of their profession.  Ayushmann Khurrana plays  Uday Gupta, a reluctant male gynaecology student, who feels like a misfit in a class dominated by female students. His carelessness leads to mistakes  and he is often rebuked by his professor, Dr Nandini Srivastav (Shefali Shah) for his  irresponsible behaviour. The film discusses how gender barriers can be breached for the sake of a more balanced society. Anand Pandit Motion Pictures distributed this movie and it was produced by Junglee Pictures. 'Doctor G' also stars Rakul Preet Singh, Sheeba Chaddha, and Indraneil Sengupta and is currently streaming on Netflix.

Golmaal: Fun Unlimited

This  2006  cult comedy continues to be a fan favourite nearly 17 years after its release.  Based on Mihir Bhuta's Gujarati play 'Aflatoon', the Rohit Shetty directorial revolves around  four   bumbling friends, Gopal (Ajay Devgn), Lucky (Tusshar Kapoor), Madhav (Arshad Warsi), and Laxman (Sharman Joshi) who routinely create massive problems for themselves .The film shows how the four try to fool a blind couple, Somnath (Paresh Rawal) and Mangala (Sushmita Mukherjee), into believing that their US based grandson Sameer has come back to them.   Jointly produced by Dhilin Mehta and Parag Sanghvi, it also stars Rimi Sen and Mukesh Tiwari. It is currently available on YouTube and Prime Video.