MUMBAI: Filmmaker Anees Bazmee's new multistarrer comedy flick "Pagalpanti" opens this weekend, flaunting a vast ensemble cast including Anil Kapoor, John Abraham, Ileana D'Cruz, Saurabh Shukla, Arshad Warsi, Kriti Kharbanda, Urvashi Rautela and Pulkit Samrat. Like all of Bazmee's comedies of the past, the film promises to bring back the trademark quota of slapstick.

"I want my films to make people laugh and be happy. Life is short. In your oldage, when you look back, you will mostly remember the happy moments. Today, people are under a lot of stress, be it in career, source of income, taking care of kids' education or weddings. There are so many reasons to worry that people are gradually forgetting to smile. I want to give people a few moments of laughter through my films. I was in a happy space of mind while writing the film. I believe, whenever a person is in a sad mood, my film should lift their spirit," Bazmee told IANS.

These days, slapstick films -- particularly the sort that he makes -- are often tagged mindless. Bazmee reacted: "People often tend to underestimate comedy. It is very sad. It is a good thing to laugh. We use our mind in too many things, and that's why there is war, terrorism, and destruction. It will cause you no harm if you use your mind a little less sometimes."

Although the filmmaker's target is to make people laugh, box-office numbers also matter. "Box-office does matter in commercial cinema, The numbers are important, so I want my films to do good business. At the same time, I want people to say it was a nice film! I will be very unhappy if people say it was a bad film, so how did it do big business," he said.

Asked if comedy as a genre enjoys a loyal fan base, he replied: "Everybody wants to laugh. Maybe some people react instantly while others react five minutes after hearing the joke. After watching a comedy, you might wonder how such a stupid picture work. It worked because people want to laugh. Comedy as a genre will always find audience."

However, the veteran writer-director claims comedy is the toughest genre to handle. "I find it the most difficult genre. Other kinds of films have a fixed formula, but not comedy. I have written films across genres and I find comedy the toughest among all. Even for actors, it is the most difficult to pull off comedy correctly," said Bazmee who has delivered several comedy such as like "No Entry", "Welcome", "Singh Is Kinng", "No Problem", "Ready", "Thank You" and "Welcome Back".

Bazmee's new comedy "Pagalpanti" hit theatres on November 22.

Source: IANS