Ready to laugh? Salman Khan sandwiched between the two lovelies Sushmita Sen and Katrina Kaif in Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya...ha-ha, hee-hee, hoo-hoo. Bollywood never gives up. Just when you thought comedies are no longer the flavour of the year, a bunch of directors are ready to unleash a fury of farcical laughter. While Priyadarshan has taken the Mujhse Shaadi Karogi hero Salman and his Hulchal heroine Kareena into a serious arena in the ready-for-release but yet untitled film, David Dhawan is content to bask in the burlesque of the Akshay Kumar-Salman-Priyanka Chopra triangular titters-giver.

Dhawan’s Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya (don’t miss the hiccuping homage to Sooraj R. Barjatya’s Maine Pyar Kiya in the title) which features Salman with his real-life gal Katrina and the sizzling Sushmita is as funny as it can get. By year-end Dhawan will also be ready with Shaadi No.1 featuring a host of middling stars on a mirth yatra.

And while Govinda has relinquished the throne of Comedian No.1 (with his soppy melodrama Ssukh reversing his image from grin to grim with a patent lack of vim) Akshay Kumar has clearly discovered a penchant for parody that he’s currently exploiting in as many as three under-production films ? Priyadarshan’s Garam Masala, Vikram Bhatt’s Deewane Huey Pagal and Neeraj Vora’s Phir Hera Pheri. Two of these are sequels to Akshay’s very successful comedies in the past. “And why not?” Akshay says without sounding defensive. “What’s wrong in making people laugh? I think it’s a rare ability and one that I’m most certainly not letting go. I enjoyed doing comedy in Mr & Mrs Khiladi, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi and even Khakee where I was almost the comic relief. These films got me maximum notice and even awards. Like Dharamji whose best films like Pratiggya, Chupke Chupke and even Sholay had him in funny parts I don’t mind doing comedy.”

Neither does Priyanka Chopra who discovered her appetite for the funnies in Akshay’s company in Mujhse Shaadi Karogi and is now flirting with the funny bone in writer-turned-director Rumi Jaffri’s untitled film. “It’s a non-stop laugh riot and I love doing comedy, especially with Salman who’s my costar in Rumi’s film. I had some really funny moments in Andaaz and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi. I feel making people laugh is really tough, especially women since they aren’t natural-born comedians. That’s why I admire Rani Mukherjee. She’s exceptionally funny in Bunty Aur Babli.”

Rani won’t have much of a chance to be funny in her forthcoming films. But Preity Zinta is in a mirthful mode in new director Siddharth Anand’s Salaam Namaste. Another writer-turned-director Anees Bazmi gets gloriously giggly in Boney Kapoor’s farce-fest, No Entry, which has three big heroes ? Anil Kapoor, Salman Khan and Fardeen Khan ? making faces.

Lara Dutta, who costars, says, “I play a loud possessive Punjabi woman, like Tabu in Biwi No. 1. It was so out of character for me, and I had a ball.”

If Bazmi’s boudoir farce, No Entry, works he can release his long-delayed Govinda comedy Hum Do Hamare Ek. For now, the ball is entirely in the comic court. Both the leading men and women are having a whale of a time tapping their latent satirical talent.

Anant Mahadevan who’s about to launch his comedy, Do Dooni Chaar, feels it’s far more difficult to make people laugh than cry. “But when you’ve a talented and untried actor like Sammir Dattani as I have, the effort to generate laughter ceases to be laboured. We desperately need laughter in our lives.” That explains why Riteish Deshmukh is so much in demand in combination with his Kya Kool Hai Hum? costar Tusshar, and in other parodic permutations. Sahara-Percept has just roped in Riteish to put his funny-bones together with Paresh Rawal and Om Puri in a film called Malaamal Weekly. Corny? You bet! And the laugh lines never seemed more curvaceous.