If one word can describe Susan Stroman’s The Producers (Sony Pictures; DVD Rs 599, VCD Rs 299) it’s got to be ? hilarious. Music and lyrics by Mel Brooks; screenplay by Mel Brooks along with Thomas Meehan, and produced by Mel Brooks and Jonathan Sanger, this is a film to be roll in laughter with. It’s a Tony Award-winning musical stage-show hit starring Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Uma Thurman and Will Ferrell.

Max Bialystock (Nathan Lane) was once the King of Broadway, but now all his shows close on opening night. After another Broadway flop, producer Max teams up with the timid accountant Leo Bloom (Matthew Broderick) and churns up a get-rich-quick scheme. They have to put on the world’s worst show. The idea is to raise far more money than is needed, then make sure the show is despised. Then no one will be interested in it, and Max can pocket the surplus. Ingenious! So they produce a musical called Springtime for Hitler written by an escaped Nazi, Franz Liebken. Then they get the insanely flamboyant Roger De Bris to direct it. Finally, they hire as a lead actress the loopy Swedish bombshell, Ulla (Uma Thurman) whose last name has over 15 syllables. Nothing can go wrong, sorry right, this time. But is there any accounting for audience taste? Grab this just-released comedy, and laugh all the way to, and in, the couch.

Shapmochan (Angel; DVD Rs 399), directed by Sudhir Mukherjee, is a story of a cursed family where music means death. This curse was the result of an insult to the teacher. The Guru in rage had cursed his disciple that whoever in his family would pursue music would become handicapped and die. The curse has been coming true for three generations and Pahari Sanyal, a great singer, has now become blind. Thus he’s determined to keep his younger brother Uttam Kumar away from music. But Uttam is also born with music in his soul. To honour his brother’s wish he goes to the city to earn a decent living for his family. Soon he realises that the only way he can earn is by exploiting his talent as a singer. Encouraged by Suchitra Sen, whom he meets in the city, he makes music his career. But the news kills his brother. Uttam falls ill, too. But it’s Suchitra’s love and belief that cures him. She also breaks the cursed tanpura and ends the curse. The film has excellent music and some very popular songs by Hemanta Mukhopadhyay.