You know those nights when you and your gang gather round, shot glasses in hand, to marathon the Holy Trinity of ’90s and early ’00s Bollywood—Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai—for the 75th time? No matter which way your cinematic sensibilities otherwise lean—you could be a Studio Ghibli fan or an A24 nerd—if you grew up with Bollywood, it has you in a chokehold for life. This is especially true for young Indians living abroad: for us, these are the movies we associate with our childhood, the songs that play on loop in our heads, and, in many ways, the most fun way to explain our culture to non-desi friends.
It makes perfect sense that the hottest desi night out in NYC right now is a live re-enactment of Bollywood classics from more than 20 years ago, with a solid slapping of irreverence, by a (very) tipsy cast. Best described as a communal nostalgia trip, Drunk Bollywood LIVE! is a hub for young Indians in New York to bond over their love of Bollywood, meet fellow film buffs, and (potentially) have their next meet-cute (in a room full of Bollywood superfans, what else would you expect?) DBL springs from the comedic genius of Lion Party Films, an NYC-based production company co-founded by film critic and stand-up comedian Proma Khosla and filmmaker Raashi Desai. Inspired by the Comedy Central show Drunk History, the duo kicked off Drunk Bollywood about six years ago as a video series on YouTube, and built up an oeuvre that spoofed everything from Mujhse Dosti Karoge! to Padmaavat.
After spending the summer of 2023 transcribing K3G, the duo realised it was time to take the show live—booze and all. This meant they’d have to expand their cast to include not just Bollywood fans, but also tried-and-tested actors who could memorise lines, improvise, and perform in various states of (un)sobriety. Since it debuted with K3G in November 2023, DBL has also spoofed Main Hoon Na, and almost every show has been sold out.
“I think DBL is something that people didn't know they needed until we put it in front of them, and then they couldn’t get enough,” shares Khosla. “A joke that has stuck around since the first draft, and always kills, is when Jaya Bachchan’s character [in K3G] tells Farida Jalal’s Sayeeda to leave with Rahul and Anjali. In both show and film, she says, ‘I don’t want my son to feel like he doesn’t have a mother.’ Then we added a line for Sayeeda: ‘What about my kid?’ It's such a small and obvious critique that speaks for itself, and it is one of the longest laugh breaks in the show.”
Therein lies the magic of Drunk Bollywood LIVE!: it playfully mocks Bollywood’s most questionable moments without taking away from the drama, romance, or sheer cultural potency. The cast also keeps it fresh by incorporating current trends and viral moments into performances, with a healthy dose of improv that ensures no two shows ever feel the same. For example, in Main Hoon Na, you can currently expect a ‘very demure, very mindful’ joke to describe Ram, or a cheeky hawk-tuah reference casually slipped in during Professor Rasai’s spitting scenes.
Occasionally, DBL also shakes up the format. Once in a while, there’s a trivia night, which invites participants to showcase their knowledge of the most obscure Bollywood trivia through games like guessing the hook step of a dance, identifying movies from stills, or reciting iconic dialogues from memory. There’s also a game in which non-Indians attempt to describe a dramatic scene from Baazigar based solely on what they think is happening. And of course, each night ends with a live DJ set—Bollywood bangers only, till 2 am.
With interest growing in other cities, DBL is eyeing expansion. However, the founders are committed to fair compensation for their crew and will expand only when they can maintain the show’s integrity and find the right sponsors. For now, they’ve struck gold in NYC, and are already neck-deep in prep for their next show, which happens to be one of the most iconic, enduringly rewatchable love triangles of all time—Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. I speak on behalf of all the desis in NYC when I say that we’re ready.
