Housefull: Laughter Unlimited!
By MovieTalkies.com, 03 May 2010
3 / 5
Sajid Khan's 'Housefull' comes with a lot of promise and plenty of hopes. Let's just say that the film seems to live up to most of them. Like his previous venture, 'Heyy Babyy!', this one too is another slapstick cum situational comedy with mistaken identities galore. What works really in the film's favour is the top notch star cast, all of who seem to be in good form. While the film is funny and all of that, let's just say that one expected a little more from Sajid. One expected him to have raised the movie to a different level altogether and given us something which matched the caliber of say, a 'Heri Pheri' or even better. Or should we say funnier?
The film is all about a loser played by Akshay Kumar, who is suitably awkward and given to self pity at times. Ditched by his girlfriend in Macao, he moves back to London to be with his good friend Bob, played by Riteish Deshmukh, and his Gujarati wife, Hetal (Lara Dutta). His friends decide to get him hitched to a nice Hindustani girl, played by Jiah Khan, whose father (Randhir Kapoor) is the owner of the casino where Riteish and Lara work. But bad luck seems to dog Akshay and Jiah ditches him during their honeymoon for her Brit boyfriend. Disgusted by his streak of bad luck, he decides to commit suicide but is rescued by a damsel, called Sandy (Deepika Padukone) and they proceed to fall in love.
Just when everything seems to be going right, the relative decides to make an entry, mainly Hetal's estranged Gujju dad, played by Boman Irani and Sandy's possessive brother, played by Arjun Rampal. Haved lied through their teeth about their respective partners being rich and owning mansions in London, the two friends are now forced to take recourse to all kinds of role playing and lies. In the confusion that follows, Akshay finds himself playing husband to Lara as well as playing Sandy's boyfriend while Riteish is reduced to being Akshay's brother in law… and the cook, as well. Mistaken identities, subterfuge, ridiculous situations and all kinds of jokes at homosexuals, fill the rest of the film as finally the truth comes out and everybody lives happily ever.
One cannot go to see 'Housefull' for any kind of intelligent humour. It promises to be stupid and funny and it delivers on that promise. The good thing is that it does manage to tickle one's funny bone and some of the situations are quite funny actually, like the one with the tiger or Akshay's fight with a monkey, or even Boman's relationship with his mother or his knack for catching Akshay and Riteish at all the wrong moments.
A stroke of genius was the manner in which Sajid plotted his climax. The scene where the cat is out of the bag and the truth is revealed is done quite differently, with everybody spilling the truth under the effect of laughing gas, wrongly injected into the room. That was quite well done.
With 'Housefull', Sajid sticks to tried and tested formulae and a tried and tested cast. The chemistry between the cast members is good and results in a certain kind of ease which helps the performance. There is, of course, no doubt about the fact that Sajid is a skilled director and moves quickly from one event to the other with the correct pace, hence keeping the momentum going and not allowing too much time from one laugh to the next.
One only felt that Lillete Dubey's role could have been better written and integrated into the whole. The films has been shot in parts of London and Italy and some of the outdoor shots in Italy are quite bewitching. The film's music has been composed by Shankar Ehsaan Loy, who manage one chartbuster in Mika's 'apni to aise taise'. The remaining songs are catchy and fun while one is watching them, but may not linger too long in memory.
Where the actors are concerned, Akshay plays his usual poker faced, simpleton self and manages to pull it off once again as do Lara, Riteish and Boman. The comic timing and chemistry between the trio is excellent. All three have a great flair for this genre and are totally at home.
Arjun fits into his role of the serious, suspicious elder brother very well. Lillete has little to do, but manages to make her presence felt. Deepika stands out a little from the rest because of the earnestness with which she plays her character.
Randhir Kapoor is there for too short a duration for one to judge him. Chunky Pandey makes an appearance in small cameo and is good to watch. Finally, one comes to Jiah Khan, who is just there to take the plot forward. She does her bikini number and all of that, but makes little impact.
'Housefull' has its comic moments and is a fun watch. One is not sure if 'Housefull' will live up to its name and ensure houseful audiences, but it should definitely find many takers.