Housefull 5 Review: Weakest film of this comedy franchise which fails to live up to expectations
Housefull 5 Movie Rating: 2 Stars
Watched Housefull 5 movie in Cinema. Let’s focus on the complete details, story, positive/negatives and at last my personal view on this movie.
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh, Sanjay Dutt, Fardeen Khan, Shreyas Talpade, Nana Patekar, Jackie Shroff, Dino Morea, Jacqueline Fernandez, Nargis Fakhri, Chitrangada Singh, Sonam Bajwa, Soundarya Sharma, Chunky Pandey, Nikitin Dheer and Johnny Lever
Director: Tarun Mansukhani
Release Date: 6th June 2025 in cinemas
Story: Movie begins with the sudden demise of Ranjeet Dobriyal (Ranjeet) a billionaire worth 69 billion, who suffers a heart attack. He has a board of directors to handle his empire which includes Maya (Chitrangada Singh) Shiraz (Shreyas Talpade), Bedi (Dino Morea) and his stepson Dev (Fardeen Khan). Everyone expected that he would leave something for them in the will. But he has declared his real son Jolly as the heir to all his wealth.
With no one certain of who the mysterious Jolly is, chaos unfolds as not one, but three men step forward, each claiming to be Jolly. Jalabuddin aka Jolly (Riteish Deshmukh), Jalbhushan aka Jolly (Abhishek Bachchan), and Julius aka Jolly (Akshay Kumar), all arrive on a luxury cruise, each accompanied by their respective wives: Zara (Sonam Bajwa), Sashikala (Jacqueline Fernandez), and Kanchi (Nargis Fakhri).
Suspicious of their motives, Dev determined to protect his claim to the estate and secretly arranges a DNA test to identify the real heir. But things take a wild turn during a night of partying. The group consumes drinks laced with a roofie and wakes up the next morning with no memory of what happened. To make matters worse, Dr. Amar Joshi (Akashdeep Sabir), the man conducting the DNA tests, is found murdered. With no clear alibi, the three Jollys and their partners become the prime suspects.
Enter Bhidu (Sanjay Dutt) and Baba (Jackie Shroff), two disgraced former London cops brought in to solve the case. They soon discover that the cruise is teeming with other shady characters, including Ranjeet’s board of directors and are now under suspicion. The mystery deepens with the arrival of senior officer Dagdu Hulgand (Nana Patekar), determined to crack the case. Watch this film to find out the real killer. The film introduces suspense elements and multiple climatic twists and each theatre screening may feature a different killer reveal (as there are two different prints released namely Housefull 5A and Housefull 5B) to keep audiences guessing until the end.
Positives
1. Performances
2. Cinematography
3. Music
4. Climax
Negatives
1. Length
2. Direction
3. Screenplay
4. Story
5. Dialogues
6. Not for family
Durgesh Tiwary’s View: When I watched the trailer of this film planned to watch this movie in cinemas in my free time as loved few movies of this franchise. Set aboard a luxury cruise ship where a billionaire named Ranjeet Dobriyal mysteriously gets killed by a masked man, prompting a chaotic whodunit filled with the franchise’s trademark slapstick humour and comic misadventures. Bhidu and Baba are police officers, attempting to unravel the mystery of the murder.
Housefull 5 story is actually an assemblage of many funny anecdotes but not all of them tickle the funny bone. There is no room for logic in the story but that’s acceptable because logic has never been the hallmark of any of the Housefull franchise films. The first half has several funny moments and scenes, which evoke laughter. But it also has some scenes and jokes which fall flat on their face. The post-interval portion is not as exciting because it looks stretched. The film’s scale is massive. The visuals are rich, and the cruise setting screams luxury. The star-studded cast is a big draw. The songs, like Laal Pari, Dil-E-Nadaan, and Qayamat, are catchy and beautifully shot. Some gags hit the mark, keeping your chuckling. The chaotic ensemble keeps you hooked, even if it’s not perfect. The murder mystery angle feels fresh, despite shaky execution. Akshay Kumar carries the film. He keeps the Housefull vibe alive. Riteish Deshmukh is reliable as always. His goofy charm delivers laughs. Apart from them I liked the performances of Shreyas Talpade, Dino Morea and Fardeen Khan. The leading ladies, Sonam Bajwa, Jacqueline Fernandes, and Nargis Fakhri, bring glamour but only Sonam stand out with her performance and dialogues delivery. Tarun Mansukhani’s direction is good, but the consistency of a laugh riot is missing.
It is clear that funny situations are not written in the writing, but the actors have been asked to do something funny in the scene. Akshay Kumar and Riteish Deshmukh are two seasoned players of comedy and in movie, they are the only two who have some reactions, some words and some expression funny type. In almost half of the film, both of them are also seen trying to create comedy by pushing their heels. In many places, it seems that no one knows what to do next. In such a situation, the strange antics of an actor are resorted to again. The fate of movie would have been different if the screenplay had a perfect finish that’s essential for such a routine comedy entertainer. This aspect is grossly missing in film. Adding to this, the lethargic narration in the first half and the lag scenes in the second half only test the audience’s patience. However, the comedy scenes that were churned out one after the other salvage the situation to an extent. While watching all our favorite Bollywood stars together in a single frame is exciting, proper care should have been taken in handling their roles. One gets a feeling many actors have been wasted in poorly etched roles. The senior actors, in particular, have been given lackluster characterizations.
In a span of 2 hours, 45 minutes, the banal first half is loaded with random songs, pointless arguments, juvenile jibes and loud noise but humor. You desperately miss comic punches. Even Sanjay Dutt and Jackie Shroff’s inclusion as baba and bhidu don’t add up. You feel sorry for these actors reducing themselves to caricatures of their former glory. The plot’s ambiguity may make you lose interest in the killer’s identity. The comedy isn’t as sharp as it should be. The crude humor does not help. Many dialogues are so blatant they feel awkward. Some scenes and lines are objectionable. They tried generating humor using cleavage, crotch, buttocks, and lips. And the most disgusting part is that they even used below-the-belt hair to generate humor. It is atrocious, to say the least. Sadly, the makers of the film and their brains still believe that a man ogling by staring at the cleavage of a woman or women is a way to generate comedy. There is a sequence in the movie where the three lead actresses crawl in a tunnel-like thing to get into a laboratory. The frames used by the cinematographer in that sequence are outrightly disgusting. It is the objectification of a woman’s body at its peak. And then, there is a sequence where the three lead actors of the film fight with a Macaw, a bird. Also, there is a sequence where Akshay Kumar fights with two monkeys. Both these sequences show the lack of ideas in the writer’s brain and the desperation of the director to make the audience laugh at any cost. Overall, the huge star cast, captivating twists, and surprising cameos are the only highlights of this installment. It is poorest film of this franchise where almost nothing works. My view on this movie Not Recommended.
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