Laugh-riots have become laughing stuck?

With actor-turned-director Srinivas Reddy's latest film 'Bhagya Nagara Veedhullo Gamathu' failing to set box office on fire and panned by critics, it looks like the Telugu audience are vexed with brainless comedy movies these days.

Just two weeks ago, Sundeep Kishan came up with a lackustre comedy flick 'Tenali Ramakrishna BA BL' which turned out to be a disappointing fare.

"Undoubtedly, even comedies demand novel scripts, otherwise the sheen of comedy movies will be further eroded," says famed writer Gopi Mohan, who penned rib-tickling comedies like 'Adhurs' and 'Dookudu'.

"Makers cannot fool audience anymore by dishing out slapstick comedies and spoofs and need to take comedy films seriously to revive the magic of rib-ticklers," he adds.

It seems to be true as comedian-turned-hero Sapthagiri's last release 'Vajra Kavacha…..' failed to impress since it was loaded with satirical scenes on previous movies and the plan went haywire.

Even the much-hyped Shakalaka Shankar's 'Nene Kedi No 1' had few takers, due to wafer-thin plots and less said the better about 'Cheddi Gang' starring Srinivas Reddy.

Last year, the much-hyped film 'Silly Fellows' announced the comeback of Sunil to comedy roles and his teaming up with Allari Naresh was hyped to the skies but it turned out to be a damp squib.

"Comedy heroes are unable to draw crowds on the strength of their names, unlike in the past like Rajendraprasad or senior Naresh.

Of course, Allari Naresh and Sunil had their share of hits but their ratings took a beating of sorts after a slew of duds. In fact, forcing them to turn comedians to keep their careers afloat," says distributor Ramakrishna.

However, Sampoornesh Babu delivered a sleeper hit 'Kobbari Matta' and struck a chord with the masses. "Kobbari Matta' was an exception of sorts in spoofs these days.

Sampoornesh scraped through, while his colleagues like Sapthagiri, Shakalaka Shankar and others bit the dust this year," adds distributor Ramakrishna, who feels that comedies should make a comeback since they are made with Rs 3 to 4 crore budget and recovering their investment is faster than big budget movies.

"Laugh-riots made within a budget are a safe bet and both producers and distributors can make some money, if it turns out be a hit. We need well-written comedies and just rehash of old scenes and dialogues is not enough," he reasons.

Whereas, director Samudra feels that fun movies will have tough time to regain their lost glory. "TV shows like 'Jabardhasth' have weaned away audience from big screen.

Besides various fun-centric skits on Youtube have dented the theatrical collections. A handful of young comedians turned heroes even before attaining star comedian status, so audience are reluctant to dole out hiked ticket rates to watch a few of them, so more time is required."