2003 · Film
Hungama
Priyadarshan's comedy of errors in which a young woman's small lies in Mumbai pull two suitors and a rich village couple into a chain of misunderstandings.
Reviewed by Movie Mandala, Sun, 18 Oct, 2026
Where to watch
IndiaAs of 18 October 2026, Hungama is free to watch in India on YouTube.
The story
Anjali arrives in Mumbai looking for work and, to rent a room from a landlord who only takes married couples, pretends to be the wife of Nandu, an aspiring musician who has run away from home. When Jeetu, the owner of a new electronics shop, mistakes her for the daughter of the wealthy Radheshyam Tiwari, she plays along to keep her new job. Meanwhile Tiwari and his wife, also named Anjali, have just moved to the city, and each begins to suspect the other of an affair.
Spoiler-free: only the set-up.
Who it suits
A crowd-pleasing family comedy that runs on mistaken identities, a large cast and fast-moving confusion, with mild slapstick and little violence. It runs about two and a half hours, and anyone who likes Priyadarshan comedies such as *Hera Pheri* will know the style.
Genres:Comedy
Curation to help you choose, not a review.
Background
Hungama is Priyadarshan's Hindi remake of his own 1984 Malayalam film Poochakkoru Mookkuthi, which was itself inspired by Charles Dickens' play The Strange Gentleman. It was produced by Venus Records & Tapes, with songs by Nadeem–Shravan and lyrics by Sameer; tracks such as "Pari Pari" and "Chain Aapko Mila" are from this film. Shooting began in Chennai, where the climax was filmed on the first day.
The film opened in cinemas on 1 August 2003 and was a commercial success. Wikipedia reports a worldwide gross of ₹21.25 crore against a budget of about ₹6 crore. Taran Adarsh of IndiaFM rated it 2 out of 5 but called it "a light entertainer with several hilarious moments", while Rediff found it had too many sub-plots.
A sequel in name, Hungama 2, with Paresh Rawal, Shilpa Shetty and Meezaan Jafri, premiered on Disney+ Hotstar on 23 July 2021 with a new story.
The facts
- Language
- Hindi
- Hindi
- Hindi original
- Genre
- Comedy of errors
- Runtime
- 146 min
- Director
- Priyadarshan
- Cast
- Akshaye Khanna, Aftab Shivdasani, Rimi Sen, Paresh Rawal, Shoma Anand
Questions people ask
- Where can I watch Hungama in India?
- As of 18 October 2026, Hungama is free to watch in India on YouTube.
- Is Hungama in Hindi?
- Yes. Hungama is a Hindi-language film.
- How long is Hungama?
- Hungama runs for 2 hours 26 minutes (146 minutes).