It all began in 2010. After their collaboration with Sajid Khan on Heyy Baby (2007), Akshay Kumar and Riteish Deshmukh came together for the no-brainer comedy-drama, Housefull. Among other things, the film was loosely based on Kamal Haasan’s 1998 Tamil film, Kaathala kaathala. Who would have thought that fifteen years later, the fifth part of the franchise would release in the same week as the coveted comeback of Haasan and Mani Ratnam in Thug Life? Thug or not, life has absolutely absurd ways of circling back together. But times are such that even the two cinema stalwarts bringing a new film might not be enough. That’s why the new Housefull film strives to do something more, it wants to say more, cast more, act more and dance more while inherently remaining just a faithful bore.
Returning six years after the last part which was a strange reincarnation story, set in the past and present, HOUSEFull 5 is a redux of sorts. It brings back the combined mess of the earlier parts and hides it under the layers of a scrappy murder-mystery. It is also timeless, much like how art should be. A hundred years from now, the film will still be as painful to watch unless the franchise spearheads into double digits to create its own competition. It tells a hanging story set on a cruise with no destination.
A grand party is to be hosted on the ship marking the 100th birthday of businessman Ranjeet Dobriyal (Ranjeet). The man, however, dies, leaving all his fortune to a certain someone called Jolly. That’s when the characters of Akshay, Riteish and Abhishek Bachchan arrive, claiming to be the real Jolly. What follows is a murder, where the three are prime suspects along with their respective girlfriends, played by Nargis Fakhri, Sonam Bajwa and Jacqueline Fernandez.
Directed by: Tarun Mansukhani
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Abhishek Bachchan, Jacqueline Fernandez, Sonam Bajwa, Nargis Fakhri, Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff, Nana Patel, Chitrangada Singh, Fardeen Khan, Chunky Pandey, Johnny Lever, Shreyas Talpade, Dino Morea, Ranjeet, Soundarya Sharma, Nikitin Dheer, and Akashdeep Sabir
