Filmmaker Indra Kumar has one simple aim — to tell a good story and make it a family affair. Comedy, he believes, is the genre that fits the bill. As cinemagoers return to theatres, he believes there is a renewed appetite for light-hearted, feel-good films. “We had a great subject. So I thought we must make it. And if you can laugh with the family, that’s a better option,” says the director as the fourth instalment of Dhamaal hit screens on July 10.

The goodwill that came his way before the release reinforced his belief. “Everybody wanted it. I got positive vibes from the whole industry this time.”

Having spent over three decades directing high-energy, crowd-pleasing entertainers, Kumar acknowledges that comedy is a difficult genre. To ensure audiences laugh along with the film, he has a trick up his sleeve.

“Comedy is something you have to have in you. You have to enjoy [the humour] while filming it. Also, [it’s a genre] that inspire actors to do all the things they are unlikely to do in real life,” notes the filmmaker of the Ajay Devgn, Arshad Warsi, Riteish Deshmukh, and Jaaved Jaaferi-starrer.

Kumar says the Dhamaal films have endured because of the ensemble cast’s chemistry. He credits Devgn’s deadpan humour and the camaraderie among the actors, which translates effortlessly on screen. 

“Ajay, who has got the dignity and poise to match, can carry off a comedy effortlessly. He is one of the most versatile actors we know. In today’s time, he can do both a Tanhaji (2020) and Dhamaal, followed by a Singham, Shaitaan [2024], and Drishyam with so much ease. It’s a great quality. The kind of variety Ajay does is amazing,” shares the director.

Since ‘Dhamaal 4’ released on Friday, its fat-shaming jokes aimed at Anjali Anand have drawn criticism. Indra Kumar says audiences will understand the context when they watch the film. “I really loved Anjali, and she was very happy with the role. She has done an excellent job. The humour has context within the story and the character arc gives those jokes meaning rather than reducing her to them,” he says.

The trailer of Dhamaal 4 has everything audiences have come to expect from the franchise  — slapstick, loud humour, and an ensemble cast. But amid the flying punches and comic mayhem, one thing stood out: actor Anjali Anand wasn’t just another face in the crowd. She was paired opposite Riteish Deshmukh, dancing in songs, featuring prominently in the promotions, and occupying space that mainstream Hindi comedies have rarely offered women who don’t fit Bollywood’s conventional beauty template.

It also reopened a familiar debate. Can commercial Hindi cinema move beyond using a plus-sized actor as the butt of a joke?

Anand doesn’t dodge the question. “I was hesitant in the beginning,” she says, “Even I didn’t want to represent something where the body becomes the conversation. I told myself, ‘If I don’t do this part, someone else will.’ Rather than giving this responsibility to somebody else, I wanted to play the character and play her the way she should be played. I didn’t want her to become a bechari who simply keeps listening to people.”

“Those films are still being made because society still thinks like this. People can argue with me, but I always tell them, ‘Go and read the comments on my social media.’ There’s a lot of love, yes, but there are also people who have never seen someone like me getting a lead part.”

The word “fat”, she says, has acquired a power it shouldn’t have. “For me, ‘fat’ isn’t an offensive word. We’ve conditioned ourselves to think thin is good, fat is bad, fair is good, dark is bad. I’ve spent years changing that conditioning in my own head.”

Unlike many public conversations around GLP-1 weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro, Anand’s response isn’t moralistic. “My weight has never made me unhappy,” she says, “People have made me unhappy because of my weight. There’s a difference.”

She laughs when she is told people assume she must be unhealthy. “I probably have the best blood reports among people I know. I trek, I dance for hours, I go scuba diving, I paraglide. I’ve never looked at myself as somebody who needs fixing. If somebody wants to take a GLP-1 because it genuinely makes them happier, then please do it but under a doctor’s supervision. Who am I to judge? We have medicines for everything. If this helps somebody live a happier life, why shouldn’t they? The question is whether you’re doing it because you want to, or because you’re listening to everyone else.”

Anand has become one of the few actors expected to shoulder conversations around representation while simultaneously navigating an industry that still views her body before her talent. The irony isn’t lost on her. 

“I don’t see my body,” she says matter-of-factly, “I just see myself as a person. In the beginning, I got swept into the whole body positivity movement. Later I realized, that’s not me. I’m not body positive. I’m just a good person and I expect other people to be good people.”

Three years have passed since Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023) introduced her to a much wider audience as Ranveer Singh’s warm-hearted sister. Ironically, she says, success hasn’t quite given her an identity of her own.

“People still call me Ranveer’s sister. Now they’ll probably call me Riteish’s wife,” she laughs, “The day people call me Anjali, that’s when I’ll feel like they’ve actually started seeing me.”

That recognition, she believes, still comes most powerfully through the big screen. “When we were growing up, social media didn’t exist. Brands didn’t exist. OTT didn’t exist. Those things are wonderful and I hope I keep getting more work there. But there’s something about the big screen. That’s where your inner child lives. I’m hoping Dhamaal reminds people that I still exist. This is my tenth year in the industry. Everybody tells me somebody should write a great film for me. I hope God is listening.”

For Anand, perfection has never been the goal. “I don’t want to spend my whole life trying to become perfect. I want to live my life. A hundred years from now, people won’t remember any of us. Why should I waste my life chasing somebody else’s definition of beauty?” The answer, perhaps, explains why she continues to choose visibility.

She knows Dhamaal 4 won’t end Bollywood’s dependence on easy fat jokes overnight. But she hopes a few will remember something else. That a woman who didn’t fit Bollywood’s conventional mould stood at the centre of one of Hindi cinema’s biggest comedy franchises and looked like she belonged there all along.

In a panel discussion titled 'Women in OTT: Changing the Script' at The Economic Times Women's Forum 2025, acclaimed actors Rasika Dugal, Tillotama Shome, Riddhi Dogra, Sheeba Chaddha, and Anjali Anand came together to share personal journeys, career pivots, and how the streaming revolution transformed the narrative arc for women in Indian entertainment.

Rasika Dugal, widely recognized for her role as Beena Tripathi in the critically acclaimed web series Mirzapur, opened the conversation with a candid take on the early promise of streaming platforms.

"When OTT first exploded, everyone was suddenly saying 'female-centric story, female-led character'. It was exciting, but I was skeptical. Would it be real change or just another form of tokenism-women doing the same things men do?"

Dugal added that scripts are now beginning to explore femininity more meaningfully. "We don't always succeed because our ingrained references often objectify women. Despite good intentions, visuals can end up sexualised even if that wasn't the intent on paper. We're all working to unlearn and undo that baggage," she said.

Veteran performer Sheeba Chaddha, who has transitioned fluidly between theatre, film, and streaming, spoke of clarity rather than challenge. "I've always approached them (theatre and film) as completely separate mediums and we engage with them differently," she noted.

Tillotama Shome reflected on her shift from theatre to film and OTT, emphasizing the emotional safety the camera offered. "The camera was like an unobtrusive, gentle friend," she said.

"The concept of multiple takes wasn't about repetition-it was about trying something new. It suited someone like me who doesn't enjoy the adrenaline rush of a live performance." She also spoke about the impact of her role in Qissa, where she played a woman raised as a man by her father. The part, she said, reshaped her understanding of gender and identity.

Riddhi Dogra, who played a woman grappling with same-sex desire in The Married Woman, admitted to initial hesitation. "It was a subject that needed absolute non-judgement and great sensitivity," she said. "But when I met the director and writer, I understood the care they were bringing to the story."

She said that a script supervisor-herself in a same-sex relationship-was brought in to guide the process. "I think that is what has sort of resonated with the audience, whoever has appreciated that show, is that they see that care, they see that sensitivity but not overly doing it. We kept it as normal as possible," she added.

For Anjali Anand, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani marked a turning point. "I came from television-did it for three years after my first web show, back in 2016-17, when the web shows weren't really considered cool. Television throws every imaginable situation at you-especially if you're the protagonist in a daily show," she said.

"When Rocky Aur Rani came along, it felt like the right opportunity to finally show what I was capable of. I had been preparing for it, and I chose to take it on."

Reflecting on her role as Beena Tripathi in Mirzapur, Dugal said the role became a form of exploration-something she hadn't had the courage to pursue or allowed herself to experience in real life.

"I feel I had an upbringing that was as free from gender bias as possible within a patriarchal society. I also went to a college with a strong feminist ideology," she added.

Speaking about changing perceptions of indie cinema, Shome observed that independent films are experiencing a resurgence. "It feels funny-like coming full circle. When I started out with independent cinema, it was looked down upon, and considered neither mainstream nor commercially viable. So it's really nice to now be in an environment where people understand the commercial viability of an independent project. And by 'independent,' I mean having the creative freedom to do what you want."

Actor Anjali Anand, known for Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023), recently opened up about a traumatic childhood experience. She recalled how a dance teacher “dictated her life” and that her first boyfriend “saved her.”

The 33-year-old said, “I didn’t know what to do. I was eight, just after my dad passed. He told me, ‘I am your dad,’ and I believed him because I didn’t know any better. Then he started very slowly — he gave me a peck on my lips and said, ‘It is what dads do.’”

Anjali, who was seen recently in Dabba Cartel, told Hauterrfly that this teacher also controlled how she dressed, and this behaviour continued till she turned 14 years old. “He used to keep tabs on my itemised billing — he knew what messages I was sending. He caught me talking to this guy. He used to wait outside my school to pick me up. And everybody was like, ‘Why is he always there?’ But nobody even tried to see why,” she said.

The actor said that she only started to feel “normal” when she met her boyfriend: “When my sister got married and my dad’s best friend’s son came to the wedding, he had a crush on me and started talking to me. That’s when I thought, ‘This feels normal.’ I just felt stuck.”

It had been actor-writer Sumeet Vyas’ long-time dream to start directing. The opportunity presented itself when he met writer Khyati Anand Puthran at their kids’ playgroup. Their collaboration, Raat Jawaan Hai, is a story about three best friends who are new to parenthood. To Vyas, the Barun Sobti, Priya Bapat and Anjali Anand-starrer is about the smaller things in life. In conversation with mid-day, the first-time director talks about the Sony LIV show, his own experiences with parenthood, the interesting casting and more.

Edited excerpt from the interview.

The show’s writer is Khyati Anand [Puthran]. It was a coincidence that our kids were friends, and played together at a nearby park. In March 2022, she told me she was writing a script about early parenthood and friendship. She asked me whether I’d like to direct it. I read the script and liked it. She had written two episodes, and we began working together from there. Moreover, we were both going through the phase, so we could bring in our personal experiences. As we developed the story, the plot became more about friendship. We realized that friendship is the first victim of [parenthood] as one is not able to give their friends the same time as they did before.

Of course! If two partners are actively involved in parenting, then it becomes difficult. For example, my wife [Ekta Kaul] has taken a break from work. She is taking care of the child, so how can I go off to party somewhere? I finish my work and go home. I have very little time to spend with Ved, so I’d rather do that. Male or female, whichever parent decides to stay back and take care of the child, it affects them the most. Their social life is as good as non-existent.

The one thing I’ve understood about parenting is that it is very similar yet different. Every person’s right and wrong is different. So when they become parents, their rules differ. You cannot generalize parenting because we’ve all grown up in varied circumstances and economic backgrounds.

Avinash [Sobti’s character] is around friends, so he doesn’t have to filter what he says. He has a child and now, he wants to have a dog. When Suman [Bapat] reprimands him, asking whether it’s the same, Radhika [Anand] says that the animal doesn’t have the responsibility to grow up, take care of his elders. From the time kids are born, they are told they have to come first in class, learn tennis, become a scientist and what not! [laughs].

To each his own. I don’t think any aspect of life completes you. I always wanted to have a child, and I have friends who didn’t; either option is fine. No matter what decision you take, the grass is always greener on the other side. If your kid is crying in the night, while your friends are chilling, you may miss it. On the other hand, they may feel that you are lucky to get to play with a child. In India, we shouldn’t be worried about this. We have an abundant population [laughs].

The first actor we approached was Priya, she is also Khyati’s friend. When Khyati was writing the part, she had Priya in mind. When we approached her, she was more than excited to be a part of it. She is exceptional in the show. Anjali was a complete surprise. I had never seen her previous work. Sony recommended that we meet her. The ease with which she carries herself is quite something. Barun’s casting was out of the blue. We were struggling to find Avinash. I saw Kohrra [2023] around that time, called him and suggested the role. He is a desi guy, and loads of fun. 

Not with this show. From the onset, I always wanted to direct it. There is a certain pace that I wanted for it. Like when we watched Malgudi Days, [even though] the episodes were all 30-minute-long. I wanted to narrate a story with tasalli. If someone cannot watch the show for 30 minutes also, and he has to watch five reels, then he may not watch it. I didn’t want to compromise on the temperament. If people can relate to the story, they will watch it.

 

No, I thought I would. But from the second or third day, I found my groove. We shot for close to 40-45 days at a stretch. I didn’t feel I had to prove a point to anyone. I wanted to tell the story as honestly as I could. The story demands a certain pace because it is about smaller things [in life], there is no melodrama to it. One reference point I had is of a film that I had acted in many years ago, English Vinglish [2012]. There is innocence in this narrative, which is why it connects with a larger audience.