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Housefull - Preview
Housefull
NOT A REVIEW - Just wondering to see if slapstick can bring a smile…
The promo promises realization of every man's dream - one husband, three wives.
That is quite what it takes to interest the audience according to trade analyst, Amod
Mehra. And that is exactly what the director-producer duo is aiming at.
Unlike certain film-makers who make films for themselves rather than an audience, I make films from an audience point of view
…
I promise you that the words “paisa vasool” will be in full effect when you watch ‘Housefull’
While, director, Sajid Khan has no pretense about making a film that appeals to a particular niche, producer Sajid Nadiadwala, only wants to add to the glamor quotient.
How do we reinvent ourselves and do something that will be better than Heyy Babyy in all aspects?
As a producer I have made sure that the cast, canvas and music is far bigger than the audience’s expectation … the film has been shot with the entire cast over four countries England, Italy, Hong Kong and India.
Nice trick! The lower you set your standards, the easier it is to achieve your goal. Alright-alright, there were enough people who liked Heyy Babyy, doesn't matter much, that a part of the audience …
*ahem* … doesn't think of that as paisa vasool.
Yet, for the audience who don't care too much for this variety of entertainment there is hope because Sajid Khan has attributed his movie-making inspiration to seven of his favorite directors.
The lucky seven are Manmohan Desai, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, K. Raghvendra Rao, K. Bappaiah, Narendra Bedi, Prakash Mehra and Blake Edwards.
Just in case you missed it, the veteran directors are…lucky…that Sajid thought of them. Geez!
Anyway, after about 2 hours of browsing for buzz around this upcoming film, you figure that THE most inviting aspect of the film is the skimpily-clad, killer-lady trio - Deepika Padukone, Lara Dutta, and Jiah Khan.
Interestingly though, the straight women in the house have something to look forward too! Sajid Khan wouldn't let half his audience go without 'entertainment' now, would he?
I told them all two months in advance that I would be needing them to show skin, including Ritesh Deshmukh! So they could do all the pushups they wanted … men are all topless I've made each one of them strip, and the lovely ladies are in bikinis.
Now, whether or not a shirtless Ritesh Deshmukh is your idea of recreation, is your problem. Any which way, the cast took their director's word seriously enough to not indulge in Italian delicacies.
Worry not, not all energies have been spent on cosmetics. Ritesh has a supposedly super hilarious tongue-twister which he prepared for relentlessly."What on earth is Ritesh babbling about?" is the first question that pops after you watch this trailer. Thankfully a Lara Dutta interview comes to the rescue. The question is,"
Who are you married to in the film?"
This film is complete confusion! So I am married to Riteish, but am also married to Akshay. But I am also Akshay's sister. But I am also Riteish's sister. I am Boman's daughter, but I am also Boman's daughter in law!
Rest assured, the lady promises a tight screenplay.
So if you are not following because of all the confusion, you might lose the plot somewhere.
With 6 lead characters, it's always interesting to see who gets what kind of screen space. The supposed budget of Rs. 100 crore, clearly identifies Akshay Kumar as the main lead. Looks like the ladies, however, have divided the labor between themselves.
Deepika is the main female romantic lead. She has most of the songs and romantic scenes with Akshay Kumar. Lara has a stronger role in terms of the dialogue and the comic sequences..
Which is all fine, till I read the next paragraph,
Housefull is a comedy of errors apparently inspired by Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Chupke Chupke about a house filled with characters coming and going and creating a commotion of mistaken identity.
Oh, the horror! Chupke Chupke is my favorite film! Calling the director, "lucky" is one thing but claiming to be like one of his best works…is…heartbreaking.
Especially, when the selling points are slapstick - not regular slapping, slapping by a monkey no less! And item numbers, of course, by Mallaika Arora, Jacquline Fernandes, and maybe even Aishwarya Rai.
Despite all these reservations against this brand of entertainment, despite the anxiety, the ardent cine-lover in me, is hopeful. I remember the subtle humor in the second half of Heyy Babyy. Also co-writer Milap Zaveri is capable of writing decent comedy. Also the music, the mainstay of this genre, has received some decent reviews.
Housefull is slated for release on 30th April, 2010. Enjoy the show and let us know what you think the film is going to be like. Till then, gear up with some of these videos.
Housefull - Movie Details
- Official Sites: Website
- Banner: Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment
- Producer: Sajid Nadiadwala
- Director: Sajid Khan
![[Has twitter account]](/site_media/images/icons/twitter_small.png)
- Lead Cast: Akshay Kumar, Arjun Rampal, Riteish Deshmukh, Deepika Padukone, Lara Dutta, Jiah Khan
- Supporting Cast: Boman Irani, Chunkey Pandey, Lilette Dubey, Randhir Kapoor
- Screenplay: Sajid Khan, Milap Zaveri, Vibha Singh
- Dialogues: Anvita Dutt Guptan
- Cinematography: Vikas Shivraman
- Editor: Rameshwar S Bhagat
- Background Score: Sandeep Chowta
- Choreography: Farah Khan
- Music Director: Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani, Loy Mendonca
- Lyrics: Sameer, Amitabh Bhattacharya
- Running time: 140 minutes
- Reviewer: meetu
- Categories: Hindi Movies
- Genres: Comedy, Slapstick
Housefull - Trailer
Housefull - All reviews summary
External Reviews
46 reviewers have given Housefull an average rating of 2.1/5.0. 16 yays, 24 nays, 6 so-so. See all external reviews »
Comments (58)
i have my exams goin on but i was kinda wanting to watch da movie.. but only fear was it bein the slapstick kinds dat always disappoints.. taran adarsh was obviously gonna sing lavish praises as da site is one of da key promoters.. but i was waitin for ur review like everytime and after i've read it , i do feel like i made da right choice by making exams my priority :D
Well, Sumit, like I said, it is a tad better than regular slapstick. But then again, I'm glad I helped you stick to your books :P
Arjun Rampal is easily the best guy suited for comedy. After all he single handedly made a joke of the entire industry by becoming a National Award winning guy.
Am expecting the movie to be as charming as a migraine, par kya kare aur kuch hai hi nahi dekhne key liye :(
@Sudhir That's the thing. And it does have a couple of laughs. But only so much you can tolerate in the name of not having anything else to do :P
what a crap movie....disappointed with the review also.....any thing greater than switch channel will be leads to murder.
@mayur oh well...i laughed a bit and it was a little better than the standard slapstick
Hmmm.. here's hopin i do my exam well.. will buzz u once i come home after writin ;D
Mr. Akshay Kumar advises the audience to leave their brains at home before watching these entertaining comedies in theatres... just the same way he must have been doing before going for the shooting of such "films"...
Very nice review, though a little more generous. At the max it can be "watch if you have nothing better to do".
I don't even know why people bother with such movies. The minute I hear akshay kumar and 2-3 females I instantly know its a load of bull crap and not worth a second of my life. I'd rather be reading a book.
Meetu - Still the biggest moron next to hacky reviews like Masand, Raja Sen
So, Meetu tell me what makes crap like The Hangover classic and this rubbish?
Apart from the self-loathing double standard slave mentality.
Wow...you laughed a couple of times and it becomes watchable. What about the other 2 hours 28 minutes of the movie? Guess you were having fun watching the others laugh. Cuz. that was the only way I could have a semblance of a smile on my face, coming out. :D
Actually, I've presented a perspective on the "leave your brains home" argument in my review. And I didn't like it a bit.
I meant I didn't like the movie^^^
Yeah, the movie is watchable simply because of the dearth of even half-decent Hindi movies released recently. It is no more than what you expect, but somehow it still manages to make you laugh a few times. And yes, Deepika looks amazing. :)
@Sumit waiting to know what you thought...
@moviebhakt yeah...more or less...difficult to be as succesful as him though
@Saurabh yeah...laughed hard at the silliness in a few places, so...
Dear @!@#$%^, Uhh...i can't believe I'm using this as my defense...i liked 'housefull' better than 'hangover'
@bollyfan well...i give movie credit for what i think it's aiming to do and whether it succeeded in that perceived aim for me, which is the same way each one of us decides whether or not we liked a film. So, yes, I liked it better than you.
@Rahul THANK YOU! that's what i was trying to say...
@Rahul & Meetu : Could the success of the film be ascribed to the timing more than anything else? The last few weeks have seen some terrible films come out due to the IPL & people were starved. The film has enough star power to draw the initial crowds...and the verdict from the masses is euphoric. The one thing nobody realises is that the verdict is relative to recent films and that matters a lot when it comes to guaging the mettle of a film.
@Meetu : Not very sure if you too succumbed to the same relativity conundrum here. Would you have rated Housefull similarly had it followed films of a better quality than it actually did?
@Bollyfan: Yeah absolutely. In retrospect there is really nothing in the movie, but then most insane comedies are supposed to have nothing. There was nothing in "The Hangover" either - which is supposed to be brilliant and all that.
Sadly, there is no masala movie releasing till Kites hits the floor on the 21st of May - I expect Housefull to mostly live up to its name till then. Maybe Badmaash Company can sneak up and deliver something - sadly YRF doesn't have a stellar record in recent times (in terms of market revenue).
I have heard for this movie that its too much comedy and must watch movie. Unfortunately I was not able to get time for this in weekends but sure would look at it within couple of days.
@Rahul : There's a major difference between Hangover & Housefull...though let me state that I'm not a big fan of the former either. In Hangover, the characters were consistent...in Housefull they weren't. Inconsistent characterisation, with characters changing to suit the situation in the film is the prime hallmark of dishonest filmmaking, IMO. How can the chief of the Indian Military Intelligence be such an easy target of schoolboy pranks? How can Lara Dutta's character hate Akki's intrusion one moment and then become a mother figure for him the very next? How can Akki fumble so badly with a vaccuum cleaner one moment and then redo the house so nicely in a matter of a few hours in the very next sequence? And all these points go on to build the plot of the film. That's what I hated about Housefull the most...the dishonesty in characterisation. And each "funny" moment of the film was just built on these lies.
The biggest problem is that the success of Housefull will spur several other filmmakers to make such tripe. The excuse of producers that Indian audiences just want this kind of stuff will be further strengthened. Hmmm...but to think about it, don't they?
By the way, Sajid Khan has gone on record saying that the climax of Housefull will do to comedies what Matrix did for action films. I don't know whether to laugh or cry at that.
@Bollyfan:
I am not Comparing Hangover and Housefull per se - I am merely clubbing them together as films which club together an improbable chain of events. That said, I agree with you that in Hangover, the director stays true to the characters while the same can definitely not be said of Housefull. If you ask Taran Adarsh he would tell you that you are supposed to leave your brains at home for films of this kind ... I am prepared to leave my senses at home but if the director takes liberties with the story line that insult my intelligence then I do have an issue with the film.
All flaws aside, Housefull is only working because there is nothing else on offer right now. The ICC T20 WC is turning into a "dance to please the rain Gods" and I don't think the soap operas on TV have improved one little bit. :P
As for Sajid Khan and the band of copy cats he might inspire - Bhagwan Bachaye Inse.
I really do not understand why some people are cursing this movie, this movie is so good! It is really funny, and made me laugh non stop. Plus you have the hot babes in bikinis, they are really sexy. The climax is great too, it is really too good. People who have problems with this movie should not watch it, why watch it and complain? I do not understand. Sajid has delivered another great film and has not disappointed fans of comedy. What is dishonest filmmaking? I do not understand. The characters are just film characters, why do you think they are real? They are there to make us laugh. And if you want real characters, why don't you go and visit the real world, why the cinema?
@lovebollywood : I didn't mention real characters anywhere. I mentioned inconsistent characters. There's a difference. You had Amar & Prem in Andaz Apna Apna...as unreal as one can get. But they were consistent. They were introduced as dumb wannabe losers...and stayed so throughout the film. Not the case with Housefull. Each character's mentality, intelligence & motivations changed as per the situation...and in a haphazard manner. Just to suit the convenience of the scriptwriter & director. I don't expect logic from screwball comedies...they're meant to be illogical. What I do expect is consistency...which was missing in Housefull. That's why I've called it dishonest filmmaking. In fact, a reviewer has hit the nail bang on its head by remarking about the difference between no-brainer entertainment & no-brainer filmmaking. Hope you get the point. If you haven't, I give up.
Arre, why should characters be consistent? Simply because you love consistency, or is it because in "real" life people are consistent? actually that is not true at all, and if the writer wants to twist his characters around to get a good laugh, so be it. By your standards, then all magic realism in fiction would be inconsistent, as the characters do not follow a clear and consistent path in terms of their actions. Consistency of character either in a film or in a novel is a very "Modernist" trend, you need a universe which is consistent and therefore predictable. Reality is often arbitrary, whimsical, unpredictable, and cruel, and also funny. The great "modernist" movements in literature are now dead, as they are in European cinema for the most part. If as a real human being you are consistent throughout your life, you would never survive, as it means you have never learnt anything, you would keep repeating the same things again and again till your dying day!!! Yes, Situations influence all of us, all the time, that is life. And when it is cinema, and the director wants us to laugh, well, he has his artistic liberty. By your standards Milan Kundera and Marquez would be dishonest!
Consistency of characters doesn't mean that there shouldn't be a character progression graph. It means that character progression should be explained through some events. In other words, characters should evolve OUT OF situations rather than change FOR them.
"By your standards, then all magic realism in fiction would be inconsistent, as the characters do not follow a clear and consistent path in terms of their actions."
That depends on the tone set for a piece or art, be it literature or cinema. Housefull is inconsistent even in its tone.
By the way, what do you smoke? You're comparing Milan Kundera with Sajid Khan...I'd love to lay my hands on your stash man. :)
Anyways...to each his own. Let's agree to disagree here.
What a waste of stars and what a bad direction of nonsense, senseless, meaningless, storyless comedy.
Please dont waste your time on this movie. It looks like Akshay's downfall has started because he has started working in nonsence movies. Worst direction, story, screenplay ,etc. Please make some good movies bollywood.
@Kaiser & Tasnim : Rajneeti looks quite promising. Let's hope Prakash Jha gets it right this time too. :)
forget the movie. I didnt even like the trailor. You can guess a lot about movie by watching the trailor. Arjun Rampal could not deliver the dialogue "teri kitni biwiyan hain" Though I heard that movie is doing well at box movies. I can guess even average and below average movies can deliver if you market them well.
@Bollyfan - And what really is the difference between evolving OUT of a situation versus CHANGING FOR them!!!????? Sounds hi fi, but what does it mean? So do humans evolve from a situation or change according to them? I am unable to grasp this distinction!
It looks to me that there are a whole bunch of people in this country who subscribe to the same values of the system but at the same time turn up their nose at it at regular intervals just to show that they are different! And what is wrong with comparing Marquez and Sajid Khan, both of them are human beings, who try to make a living out of creating fiction whether in cinema or in literature!!! To elevate one above the other could only be a personal opinion and not something that is universally applicable, so I guess you need to really smoke to expand your mind!
Enough number of people read, watch, and consume so called "brainless" content in the form of cinema, books, TV, etc. Well, it is easy to stand and pass sarci remarks, but then come on, let us see what you can do, boss!And as to being inconsistent in its tone, whatever that means, I guess Sajid Khan and the cast and all the rest are quite clear, that they have not made a movie to push the boundaries of "art" but to simply make money and that too loads of it, hopefully, in the shortest possible time! You do not like it, do not worry about it, say your two sentences, and well, it is over! But your money is gone in too, and if clearly some if not many people seem to like it, then it becomes interesting in itself, because however moronic it might be for someone of your intelligence, there seems to be something about it that appeals!
what a waste of time and money! I am not sure why Akki is selecting these type of useless movies?
I also did not understand, why Boman irani never asks for Lara's son in the end? what was the need of chunky? what was the need of the tiger in house? .....
Oh sorry last question... what was the need of making this movie?
@lovebollywood : A lot of people consume adulterated food. That doesn't make it healthy. Mass acceptance of a product is no certificate for its quality. Something appeals to people in Housefull...all I can say is that they don't really have a sense of humour...let alone good or bad. My opinion though...and I stand by it. If made to pick one by force, I'd pick The Great Indian Laughter Challenge over Housefull in the funny stakes.
And I find this "Before criticizing, make a movie yourself" argument laughable, to say the least. So, if you don't know how to drive, you can't criticise a driver for rash driving? How lame!!
Ha, ha, by what standard then would you criticise the "rash" driving, if you cannot drive? So that is how the cookie crumbles!!! And if you criticise it still does not take away the fact that you cannot drive!!!
All I am saying is that it is easy to stand and curse, but less easy to do and get cursed by others!!! Ha, ha!
I am commenting on this site for the first time.....you have a pretty diff style of writing these movie reviews...
went to Housefull......just because I had no other movie to watch....didnt enjoy much of it though......would have been better on a DVD...
@lovebollywood : By that logic, even praising a film is just as lame. Do you even realise how much of a fool you're making of yourself?
Do not worry, bollyfan, I love making a fool of myself, especially with intelligent people like you!!! With people like you around, one needs more fools, don't you think??? Yes, praising a film is also just as lame, unless and until there are some universally agreed upon standards or criteria ( which is of course a very difficult task), it just becomes my opinion versus yours!
So the point is that your standard is not the gold standard, so to expect others to accept it is a bit too much, to "stand by it" is okay, but is a pretty pointless exercise either way, right? And then of course you have to also point out that I am making a fool of myself!!! My, my how the wise make sounds! All that is important really is to have an opinion, but for most of us our own opinions are nothing short of the truth and that is where the danger is. Hey you do not like it fine, no one is asking you to. But of course, we cannot leave it at that, can we?? Ha, ha.
So characters must EVOLVE and not CHANGE, ha,ha, yes, the sounds are sophisticated all right!! And CONSISTENT, this is a beauty!
And I nearly forgot "DISHONEST FILM MAKING". This one is really good, must say!
If you had cared to read that comment of mine where I said "To each his own...let's agree to disagree", we could've avoided this message. But then you had to write an essay on life, opinions and intelligence. Tum karo to chamatkar, hum karein to balatkar?
And to explain consistency to a dummy like you, try thinking about these examples...
1. The vacuum cleaner scene could have been a classic scene...showing a bumbling, clumsy Akki wrecking havoc. But a minute down the line, he's set the entire house in order. Now, if he was really that organised and methodical, how did he end up making such a mess in the first place? And if he was a bumbling idiot after all, how did he manage to set things in order?
2. Deepika Padukone throws a fit when she has a misunderstanding about Akki having lied to her. A couple of scenes later, she sets in motion the train of lies (most of them coming from herself) that the movie is built upon. Does it add up?
And these are just two examples out of the dozens that the film proudly wears on its sleeves. Does CONSISTENT & DISHONEST FILMMAKING make more sense to you now?
And before you make a lame comback like "That's what is brainless entertainment", I'd want you to show similar disconnects in characterisation and script in films like Hera Pheri, Andaz Apna Apna, Dulhe Raja and the likes. Those are films I would enjoy even today...after multiple watches. That's brainless entertainment. Housefull is brainless filmmaking.
No, I am a dummy right, so humour me o Most intelligent one!!! Your two examples do not make any sense, because in real life people are very inconsistent, I mean yes, I might get pissed off at someone for telling lies, but that does not mean that I would not tell lies in the future or make a career out of telling lies!!! This ambiguity is part of human psychology, there are well established theories in social psychology which try to explain the same. And as for Akshay, yes he bumbled, but then later he set it right, so that act would be impossible for him is it, does he have to be a bumbler all the time? I mean come on!!!And this is "reel" life!
So he made a mistake, and then rectified it. Well, you seem no less than a saint, I am sure you are very consistent! And now we have a new distinction, brainless entertainment vs brainless filmmaking too. And I am glad that your list of adjectives to describe me seems to be growing, what next after dummy??!!
awesome the bet movie of 2010....every1 did a gr8 job...
*best
Lara is looking damn hot in the movie. The movie is great.
Woah! i go away for a few days and look at how you guys interact! AWESOME! Should I go more often?
@Bollyfan very likely that I liked the film because of the circumstances. But each film is like that. It is humanly impossible to keep the environment and viewers personality away from his likes/dislikes.
"Something appeals to people in Housefull...all I can say is that they don't really have a sense of humour...let alone good or bad."
Dude, that's considering yourself superior to others when not one of us really is. I'd say something appeals to people in Singh is Kinng, all I can say is that I don't have that something in me and I'm fine doing without it. But then again, to each his own, as always!
@lovebollywood it's a little unfair to say don't expect any reality in films. Unreal films are called fantasy films. 'leave your brains behind films' should be a genre by itself.
Again, saying "walk the talk", means you say nothing good or bad about anything ever! Then you certainly are a saint who loves discussing films. More power to you
@Bollyfan and @lovebollywood thanks for making wogma an interesting place to hangout at! I love such discussions, let's keep them going.
@Hindi Radio that's how the cookie crumbles dear...
@Navin thanks!
Meetu : Accepted...and words taken back. :) The intention wasn't to put anything down but the film.
And reg. your views on housefull, the environment was exactly what I was pointing towards. I feel that the timing of release was a masterstroke on Sajid Nadiadwala's part.
@bollyfan Interesting that the team has brains enough to time the release but not enough to make a brain-more film :D
Not really...timing the release doesn't require any creative acumen...does it? :P
@Bollyfan that as supposed to be a joke, dude!
@Meetu : The title of this page brings out the worst in me. Maaf kar do. :)
@Bollyfan :P
love this movie
its a good movie...i luved it :D
thank you a lot for this usefull article. I like to read this kind of things, keep writing more relevant subjects and i will be loyal visitor of your blog.
So characters must EVOLVE and not CHANGE, ha,ha, yes, the sounds are sophisticated all right!! And CONSISTENT, this is a beauty!
its crap movie
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