Happy Birthday Rajpal Yadav: 5 movies that prove that when it comes to comedy, few can match his genius timing

One of the best comic actors in this generation, Rajpal Yadav turns 52 today. Short in stature, but tall in talent, the actor fits in perfectly with the proverb 'good things come in small packages.' Known for his genius comic timing, Rajpal has been tickling our funny bones for decades now. This weekend, take a break from the mundane and the boring and instead, watch these five movies of the birthday boy...

One of the first successful movies in the horror-comedy genre, Rajpal Yadav played Chhote Pandit in the movie, who is always landing in some trouble or the other. His vermilion smeared face is still one of the most recognizable looks on the internet and his comic scenes brought the much needed relief in the otherwise dark horror-thriller. Co-starring Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan and Shiney Ahuja.

In this ROFL comedy, Rajpal Yadav stars as Raja, who is a supposed alliance for Rimi Sen's character, called Anjali. Some confusing events lead to him being mistaken for someone else, and Raja is thrashed left right and centre by some goons. In the climax, tired of all the punches, Raja is shown to lose his mind as he runs pillar to post, shouting and screaming! Co-starring Akshaye Khanna and Aftab Shivdasani.

A dead man, a huge lottery and endless contenders. In this mad comedy, Rajpal stars as Bajbahadur aka Bajey, the spoilt brother of village Thakurain, played by Sudha Chandran. As Bajey harbors dreams of marrying Sukhmani (Reema Sen), he also becomes party to a huge secret regarding the lottery, leading to him landing in trouble again! Boasting of an ensemble cast, this Priyadarshan movie co-starred Riteish Deshmukh, Om Puri, Paresh Rawal, Asrani and others.

In this romantic comedy, Rajpal Yadav stars as Raj Purohit Jyotshi, who is Salman Khan's astrologer. As Salman Khan's character, called Sameer, keeps landing in one problem or the other due to his anger issues, the pandit keeps advising him and gives him solutions, most of which turn out to be futile. The movie co-starred Priyanka Chopra and Akshay Kumar and turned out to be a huge blockbuster at the BO.

The movie is about a drama company that goes to London for a play and gets embroiled in a murder. Rajpal Yadav plays taxi driver Gullu in the movie and his comic scenes are pure gold. Watch out for the scene where Gullu and Bunty (Akshay Kumar) are fighting over what to do with the girl who tries to jump in front of their car. Co-starring Lara Dutta and Govinda.

While essentially donning comic roles, Rajpal Yadav has also portrayed some offbeat characters in movies like Jungle, Undertrial, Bhopal - A Prayer for Rain and others.