After the Khiladi series it was Houseful series from Akshay Kumar that made him attempt for a sequel try. All the sequels of Houseful series would be with fun entertaining sequences, colorful visuals and crispy songs – said by the makers but all the time end with silly jokes and people might think of wasting their two hour plus from their lifetime except the first part of the series.
Plot
When 6 lovers are parted because of an evil conspiracy and revenge in the era of 1419, they cross paths once again in 2019. However, in the present life the 3 boys fall in love with the wrong women and are about to marry their sisters-in-law.
Direction – Screenplay
Farhad Samji’s direction is unimpressive. Though for most parts, he is able to handle the grandeur and confusion well. The opening credits are very similar to the opening of BAAHUBALI 2: THE CONCLUSION. In fact there’s an in-your-face reference to the film later. However, several sequences are weak and the jokes fall flat. The writing is also to blame but the director should have hidden these shortcomings with his execution. Sadly that doesn’t happen here.
Sara Bodinar and Sajid Nadiadwala’s story is very weak. Aakash Kaushik and Madhur Sharma’s screenplay (with additional screenplay by Farhad Samji, Tushar Hiranandani, Sparsh Khetarpal and Tasha Bhambra) spoils the show further. It seems like the makers took audiences for granted and in the attempt to show grandeur, they missed out on the factors that made HOUSEFULL such a successful franchise. Farhad Samji’s dialogues add to the fun but only at places.
Much of the second half is about how Harry tries to persuade Max and Roy that they are doing a mistake by getting married to their bhabhis. The humour here is strictly okay and in the Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s track, it goes out of the window. Thankfully the entry of Pappu Rangeela (Rana Daggubati) acts as a respite. The climax works only in parts. The continuity issues spoil the fun.
Cinematography – Vfx – Editing
Sudeep Chatterjee’s cinematography adds to the grandeur. The ladies especially look gorgeous in both avatars.Do It Creative, AI Solve Ltd and Prime Focus’s VFX is of superior quality. The Sitamgarh Kingdom especially is depicted in a fascinating manner. Rameshwar S Bhagat’s editing is inconsistent and there are several jumps in the narrative spoils the crispy and catching effect of experiencing the movie.
Music – Background Scores
Housefull 4 music is ordinary, the Ek Chumma song has been beautifully choreographed. Ek Chumma comes next followed by “Badla”.
Bala – Shaitaan Ka Saala is clearly the highlight with its lame yet catchy lyrics.
A qawwali called Badla featuring Rana doesn’t fare any better. The Bhoot Song is the weakest part of the film while ‘Chammo’ is forgettable.
Julius Packiam’s background score is theatrical and the recurring theme is catchy.
Performance
The film rests on Akshay’s shoulders and he does a commendable job of keeping it going. He perks up the screen with his very presence, giving a fillip to others’ performances too. As Bala, he raises the bar but the underdeveloped character of Harry lets him down. Riteish Deshmukh and Chunky Pandey, who have such spot-on comic timing, have been under-utlised in the film, with their dialogues often sounding off-track. Bobby Deol looks macho and stands out. Among the female actors, Kriti Sanon does well – both as a princess and a woman of today. Her namesake, Kriti Kharbanda brings freshness to the screen though her poor dialogue delivery is distracting. Pooja Hegde, who is doing a period role again after her debut Mohenjo Daro, is strictly average. The only scene where she pulls off a joke is when she says ‘In shabdon ko toh sangeet mein pirona chahiye’ in a rather cheeky way. Rana Daggubati is wasted in a cameo, especially as we have come to expect so much from him after Baahubali. Yesteryear villain Ranjit, senior actor Manoj Pahwa and Johhny Lever are in their element. Amid such an interesting line-up, Sharad Kelkar turns out to be the surprise element, and quite impressive too.
Overall
All-in-all, watch the film if you like watching leave-your-brains-behind kind of comedy. It’s three hours of silliness served without pretence. Go without expectations and you’ll come out happy.
Verdict: 0.5/5 (0.5 is for Akki daada and for the technical team)