Masti revolves around three bachelors, Meet, Prem, and Amar. Their lives are carefree until they each marry and become bitter, unsatisfied husbands. Meet marries Anchal, who is obsessively possessive about her husband. Prem marries Geeta, who is overly religious, and thus their sexual life suffers. Amar marries Bindiya, who is the daughter of an equally aggressive and workout junkie mother. Fed up, the men get together one day and plan to reintroduce the fun and excitement into their lives. They set their sights on other women but eventually realize they have all been seeing the same girl, Monica. She blackmails the trio, blackmailing by threatening to expose the affairs to their wives unless they give her Rs. 10 lacs.
Having gathered the money, the terrified men arrive at the drop-off location, only to find Monica dead in her car. They panic and try to hide her body to avoid blame, but are interrupted by police officer Sikander, who is suspicious of them. The trio goes to Monica's house for further investigation, and they hide on Monica's veranda after they realise that Sikander had followed them there. The next morning, a mysterious man finds them and reveals that he killed Monica, demanding a ransom to cover the crime. The guilt-ridden men go to their respective wives to apologise, since they feel like the truth is bound to be revealed. The very next day, the killer pursues the men, resulting in a shootout in which they unintentionally kill the mysterious man. Afterward, they are arrested and imprisoned. Their wives arrive at the jail, and the men emotionally reveal the truth. After some time, the women reveal that the entire situation was set up by them as a prank– Monica is alive, and the 'killer' is an undercover cop. Sikander himself, is actually Bindiya's cousin. The women wanted to teach their husbands a lesson and remind them to be appreciative. The men then apologize to their wives and promise to never do "masti" again.
The soundtrack of the movie was composed by Anand Raj Anand and the lyrics were penned by Sameer. According to the Indian trade website Box Office India, with around 10,00,000 units sold, this film's soundtrack album was the year's fifteenth highest-selling.[4]
It did very well at the box office, earning around ₹34.14 crore (US$4.0million) worldwide and was declared a Hit by Box Office India.[5]
Critical response
Taran Adarsh of IndiaFM gave the film 3.5 stars out of 5, writing, ″On the whole, MASTI has all it takes to appeal to the cinegoers - an impressive star cast, popular music, dollops of comedy and most importantly, sex - not in visuals, but in dialogues and gestures. All these factors combined together will prove advantageous for the film and should take it to the winning post.″[6] Priya Ganapati of Rediff.com wrote, ″If you like a little spice in your jokes, don't mind gags on homosexuality and are in the mood for some 'non-vegetarian' stuff, then go for it. Masti is guaranteed to give you a few laughs and good 'timepass'.″[7] Manish Gajjar of BBC.com wrote, ″On the whole, Masti has all the right ingredients to click at the box office. With a great star cast, excellent music and lots of comedy, Masti is a great film to watch this Easter holidays at a cinema near you.″[8] On the contrary, however, Siddharth Patankar of NDTV described the movie as "three hours of torture," but wrote that Devgan "is effortless and does his mean cop routine very convincingly."[9]
Legacy
Released in 2004, Masti is widely regarded as one of the early successful adult comedies in mainstream Bollywood. The film’s bold approach to sexual humour, blended with slapstick, paved the way for a wave of adult-comedy films in the mid-2000s, influencing films such as Kyaa Kool Hai Hum (2005) and Grand Masti (2013).[10]
Masti opened the door for comedies centered on marital misadventures, extramarital humor, and risqué innuendo—elements that earlier Bollywood largely treated either subtly or in dramatic contexts. Critics noted: “The film … has all it takes to appeal to the cine-goers – an impressive star-cast, popular music, dollops of comedy and most importantly, sex – not in visuals, but in dialogues and gestures.”[11]
The success of Masti led to a franchise, including Grand Masti (2013) and Great Grand Masti (2016).[12] The original film set up the template for the series: three friends, bored with married life, seek “masti” (fun) outside conventional boundaries—leading to comedic chaos. Its commercial viability demonstrated to producers that adult-comedy could succeed in the Hindi film market. Actor Aftab Shivdasani observed: “With the recent success… people want to watch adult comedy. The curiosity has increased as Masti returns after nine years with Grand Masti.”[13] The film’s box-office collection in India was reported as ₹20.28 crore, establishing it as a commercial hit.[14]
The performances of Riteish Deshmukh, Vivek Oberoi, and Aftab Shivdasani, particularly in comic timing, contributed to the film’s lasting popularity via television reruns and streaming. The soundtrack, especially songs like “Ek Kunwara Phir Gaya Mara” and “Dil De Diya Hai,” remains nostalgic among audiences.[15] Viewers and commentators frequently refer to Masti as a “comedy classic.” It is also included in “10 Best Adult Comedy Movies of Bollywood,” highlighting its genre significance.[16] Although the film received mixed reviews in parts—some critics pointed to pacing issues—it was declared a hit at the box-office. The film also helped shape the comedic identity of Riteish Deshmukh, whose career shifted significantly towards comedy after this film.[17] More than two decades later, Masti remains referenced as a turning point in Hindi-film adult-comedy. A 2025 article reviewing the fourth film in the series remarked: “The first Masti back in 2004 changed the way adult comedy was seen in India.”[18] Its overall legacy lies in making risqué humour commercially acceptable in mainstream Bollywood, opening doors for filmmakers to explore adult-comedy more freely.
Sequels
A sequel named Grand Masti was released 9 years later on 13 September 2013.[19] Another sequel Great Grand Masti was released 12 years later on 15 July 2016.[20]
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