Strike it rich with Paresh Rawal

Paresh Rawal has redefined the comedian's position in Hindi cinema. He can even make a film without major stars work at the box office. And if there are stars, he effortlessly steals the show from them.

Hera Pheri is a case in point. He took action stars Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty to create a superbly memorable comedy where he -- and not Akshay or Suniel -- was the undisputed star.

More recently, in films like Garam Masala and Hungama, while Akshay Kumar and Akshay Khanna had lead roles respectively, Paresh emerged the funniest character on screen.

If trade gossip is to be believed, Paresh now apparently charges a whopping Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million) for a film.

In Priyadarshan's latest, Malamaal Weekly, Paresh is the leading man, and everyone else plays second fiddle. Finally.

Malaamal Weekly is the story of Leelaram (Paresh) a lottery ticket vendor in a small town. He is the only literate person in the town, which means he can speak a bit of English.

The illiterate, famine-stricken peasants keep buying lottery tickets in the hope that someday their fortunes will change.

One day, Leelaram learns that from 105 lottery tickets sold from his shop, one of the villagers has won the lottery.

To find out who it is, he throws a party at home, where you have to flash your lottery ticket at the entrance like an invite.

At Leelaram's party, 104 people turn up. He tallies up the numbers and realises the missing man -- a certain Anthony -- is the winner.

He heads to Anthony's house and finds him dead in front of the television set. Apparently, the news of winning the lottery overwhelmed Anthony, and he suffered a heart attack.

Leelaram eagerly grabs the winning ticket from his lifeless hands, and the story goes into comedic overdrive.

Priyadarshan has always tried to mine Paresh's vast comedic talents.

In an earlier interview, when asked why Paresh was an essential part of his films, he responded "Critics used to say the same thing when I took Tabu [in Viraasat, Sazaa-E-Kaala Pani, Hera Pheri]. Now they are after Paresh Rawal. Actually, I find humour and spark in his eyes."

Inspite of a great track record of hits, Priyan's long-standing complaint is that superstars haven't acted in his films. And this even after his Viraasat gave Anil Kapoor's flagging career a new lease of life.

Last year, Salman Khan finally acted in his Kyon Ki, and the film sank at the box office.

"Salman will never do a film with me in near future after Kyon Ki sank," said Priyadarshan after the film flopped.

Now, Malamaal Weekly boasts of a quirky ensemble lineup, including Riteish Deshmukh, Om Puri, Asrani, Rajpal Yadav, Shakti Kapoor, Arbaaz Khan and Sudha Chandran. The film is set to release on March 10.

Perhaps Priyan is better off without the big names and the starry tantrums. Let his jokes do the talking.