Prudes move over, films laced with racy content and innuendoes seem to be the new cool in B-Town.
What was better left to C-grade filmmakers to titillate the single screen audience with their double entendres, now has leading filmmakers dealing with the subject - with the belief that the audience is opening up to sex comedies now more than ever.
Filmmakers like Indra Kumar (Masti) and Ekta Kapoor (Kya Kool Hai Hum) tried their hand at this genre a decade ago. Now more producers feel that films generously peppered with adult humour are getting into the mood, even though there is a thin line between superwitty and outright vulgar.
The mantra is not to keep it subtle or anything left to imagination - it's all explicit. The bottomline, however, remains that mainstream Bollywood is unabashedly daring to venture into the risque territory, too.
Says an industry watcher, "Today, the audience is lapping up diverse cinema genres. India seems to have opened up. The urban audience, especially the youth, is hooked on to Western TV shows laced with sexual innuendos. There is a dedicated viewership for it."
Breaking new ground
Karan Johar steps out of his trademark candy floss, lovey-dovey world as producer of a sex comedy tentatively titled Dil De Pyar De helmed by Sonam Nair, who earlier directed his 2013 film Gippi. KJo has reportedly said that for this film he is stepping into a zone that he has never before "and might have to take my mother's permission before I produce it."
Coming of age
John Abraham's production Banana, directed by Sajid Ali, is a coming of age story about youngsters. A major portion of it has been shot in a school in Jamshedpur with real students. Just like his first production, Vicky Donor, was about a sperm donor, Abraham is "hoping to spring a surprise with his next production as well."
Couple capers
Television star Ram Kapoor will be seen with Sunny Leone in Devang Dholakia's Patel Rap. It is supposedly a comedy and hence, the odd pairing. Ram will take classes in Gujarati diction and the film will be shot extensively in Malaysia. The actor reportedly said, "It is a hilarious script, I have not laughed this much ever in my life. Sunny and I make for some couple."
Moving in
Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, too, is venturing into the realm of sex and erotica with his next project Xes which is apparently being produced by Ekta Kapoor. Known for his dark and horror flicks, Ramu feels this is one territory that deserves a hard look.
Double the quotient
Writer-turned-director Milap Zaveri, along with Pritish Nandy, is making Mastizaade which features Sunny Leone in a double role. The former adult movie actress essays the character of Laila Lele. The initial look of the film had Sunny with two bananas, instead of guns, in hand. Talk of being sexually explicit!
Arouse and awaken
Taboo thrills
Some films from the past that had racy content...
Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai (2002)
Directed by Hansal Mehta and penned by Suparn Verma, the film was about a bunch of youths desperate to find girlfriends. The cast included Aamir Malik, Yash Pandit, Payal Rohtagi and Samita Bangargi. The references were subtle, though.
Oops! (2003)
Actor-turned-filmmaker Deepak Tijori's film was about a guy who gets lured into the stripping biz for easy money. The film attempted to take a light-hearted approach with a cast that included Kiran Janjani, Vikas Sethi, Adyasha Satpathy and Mita Vashisht.
Mumbai Matinee (2003)
Anant Balani's film had Rahul Bose essay a virgin in his 30s. His trials and tribulations to find a partner raised a few laughs.
Masti (2004) and Grand Masti (2013)
Indra Kumar's in-your-face sex comedy starred Ajay Devgn, Vivek Oberoi, Riteish Deshmukh, Aftab Shivdasani, Amrita Rao, Tara Sharma, Genelia D'Souza and Lara Dutta. Nine years later, he directed a sequel with Vivek, Aftab and Riteish with a bevy of relatively new female faces. The sequel claimed to have touched the 100-crore mark at the box office.
Kya Kool Hain Hum (2005) and Kya Super Kool Hain Hum (2012)
Ekta Kapoor decided to make a sex comedy for the big screen in an attempt to be different from what she did in her tear jerking TV soaps. It starred Riteish Deshmukh and Tusshar Kapoor who also featured in the film's sequel. Plans are on for a third outing.
Delhi Belly (2011)
Aamir Khan's production directed by Abhinay Deo was sprinkled with sexual innuendos (remember Bhaag DK Bose?), a make-out scene with oohs and aahs, and excessive use of cuss words. The cast included Imran Khan, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Vir Das, Poorna Jagannathan and Shenaz Treasurywala.
