It’s madness and mirth mixed with mayhem. Not for the critics (I am not one! I consider myself a reviewer, and in the Indian film context, there is a humongous difference between the two, as many a filmmaker and true cinema lover would agree), this film is not for the ‘pseudos’, either.
Go in thus with your logical brain put to sleep (as in many an entertainer globally) and just have a blast!
Having come to know the difference between Housefull 5A (which is the one I watched) and Housefull 5B, I can only say that writer-producer Sajid Nadiadwala has been quite clever. There must be so many who have booked tickets for both versions, which is great for the moneys coming in. There will be loyal fans of the franchise who will watch both after watching one.
Not that this is the first film (as claimed by Sajid) to have two climaxes: a 1998 Malayalam film had one, but that was a romantic triangle. This one is a comedic thriller, and there are two killers each. The change happens only in the last 15 minutes and everything else is the same.
The silly portions of Housefull 5 surprisingly work despite being more than a shade predictable and, sometimes, even moronic. Tributes are offered to many an old film: a character’s mobile ringtone reprises the Tezaab hit, Keh do ke tum ho meri varna / Jeena nahin mujhe hai marna (an apt mukhda, all things considered, for the situation!), while frequent background musical riffs recreate the title song of Khal-Nayak after Sanjay Dutt and Jackie Shroff come in. The song Papa to band bajaayefrom Housefull 2 is often used in brief parts. The climax too has shades of the 2003 Hungama with a difference—instead of an electric circuit causing a human parade, this time there is a giant propeller. There is a whiff with a difference of Malamaal Weekly as well.
All the action happens aboard a cruise liner and so the first compliments need to go to the production designers (Rajat Poddarr, Rajnish Hedao and Iain Andrews) who do a magnificent job of the sets. The next most deserving technician is Manikandan Velayutham as the cinematographer, whose work is the main face of the grand mounting of this visual spectacle. Do It Creative Ltd and NY VFXWaala also deliver great work in the VFX. Julius Packiam’s background music cheers and steers us unobtrusively through the longish 165- minutes length.
Slapstick, toilet, situational and witty: the comedy is a mixed spread of these varied sub-genres. No one will find every element in the humor fitting their taste, but there is something for everyone. That said, the plot moves more like a thriller, with the first few minutes resembling a slasher movie, and while screwball comedy is the leitmotif of the Housefull canon, there is a strong undercurrent of a suspense drama here.
The story? Well, Ranjeet (Ranjeet) is set to celebrate his 100th birthday. He is among the richest Indians in London and owns a cruise liner where guests are invited on sea for the occasion. Unexpectedly, he dies and so leaves a will in which his entire assets (a stupendous figure), will go to Jolly, his first wife Shakuntala (Archana Puran Singh)’s son. His on-board team including the captain and doctor also includes Dev (Fardeen Khan), his second wife’s son. The team has invited Jolly, but instead of one, three Jolly’s land up: Jalbhushan (Abhishek Bachchan), Jalabuddin (Riteish Deshmukh) and Julius (Akshay Kumar), with their respective wives.
A furious Dev orders the on-ship doctor (Akashdeep Sabir) to check their DNAs (don’t bother how a Muslim and a Christian can be Ranjeet’s and Shakuntala’s son!): the doc seems to be an all-rounder and the cruise liner (which also has a jail!!!) has facilities for doing this high-tech medicolegal test! But that night the doctor is murdered. And the body count mounts later.
Two detectives who have been suspended in London, Baba (Jackie Shroff) and Bhidu (Sanjay Dutt) are summoned and the investigations begin. Romantic mix-ups, Ranjeet’s corpse, a Gujarati officer (Johny Lever), a Maharashtrian Interpol officer Dagdu Hulgund (Nana Patekar), a parrot named Gucci and a pair of monkeys from an earlier Housefull film all add to the nutty goings-on.
The songs are surprisingly tuneful while on, though forgettable later. The direction is confident and Tarun Mansukhani does a smooth job of the comic genre. The dialogues (Farhad Samji) are as needed.
Akshay Kumar is in synch with his character of Jolly. There are whacky and mad touches, like the Afghan wife breaking into fluent Punjabi, and the sequence where Jalabuddin exclaims “He Bhagwan!”. Or the scene where Baba and Bhidu plan to meet Dagdu and why they chicken out!
The rest of the cast is competent and more, with Abhishek Bachchan, Dino Morea, Fardeen Khan and Riteish Deshmukh standing out. From the females, Sonam Bajwa scores highest, though Soundarya Sharma also is effective in a supporting role.
This is a film meant for the masses and those classes who well know that classic Hindi entertainers are about such all-round buffet spreads of manoranjan. After all, when you go in for a buffet spread, you can savor what you like, and choose not to partake of or spew venom on what you do not want, even as you pay for the whole experience!
Rating: ***1/2
Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment’s Housefull 5 Produced by: Sajid Nadiadwala Directed by: Tarun Mansukhani Written by: Sajid Nadiadwala, Tarun Mansukhani & Farhad Samji Music: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Sajid-Wajid, Yo Yo Honey Singh, White Noise Collectives, Tanishk Bagchi & Kratex Starring: Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh, Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff, Nana Patekar, Chunky Panday, Fardeen Khan, Shreyas Talpade, Dino Morea, Jacqueline Fernandez, Sonam Bajwa, Nargis Fakhri, Chitrangda Singh, Ranjeet, Johny Lever, Soundarya Sharma, Nikitin Dheer, Akashdeep Sabir, Sp. App.: Bobby Deol & Archana Puran Singh
(Used with special arrangement with NIT)
