Housefull

Akshay Kumar didn't really have a good 2009 despite having some major projects lined up, with the box office response not living up to expectations. To some, that spells a loser, and the film takes an exaggerated response in having him play the unluckiest man on Earth, Arush, and he's so unlucky that Macau casinos employ him to walk their grounds to ensure winning streaks turn into losing ones. And House Full turns out to be one half of a familiar spin from contemporary Hollywood comedies before becoming its own film after the interval.

The first half spends considerable time developing the character of Arush, whom we see leaving his job to go back to stay with his best buddy Bob (Ritesh Deskmukh) and his wife Heetal (Lara Dutta), two casino employees in London. This segment turns out to be You, Me and Dupree as his unwelcome gatecrash turns the life of the couple upside down with his bad luck rubbing off into their home. Sometimes you can feel that the comedy here is just trying way too hard that it borders on the ridiculous and was flogging the dead unfunny horse, especially with the aftermath of Arush and Bob getting electrocuted.

Then it becomes a mix of a loose Forgetting Sarah Marshall and The Heartbreak Kid, with Bob and Heetal matchmaking him with their boss's daughter Devika (Jiah Khan), and it seemed like the perfect match of the Traditional Indian Boy and Girl, only for a surprise to emerge when frolicking in an Italian resort for their honeymoon, and Arush meeting up with his One True Love with Sandy, played by the lovely Deepika Padukone. Comedy here came from Chunky Pandey who plays the hotel owner Akhri Pasta with a penchant of lying and construing them as jokes, and his over the top demeanour actually was remotely funny, even though you'd learn to take everything he says eventually with a pinch of salt, with one key lie being the cause for a running gag for Arush being hurried away from the scene by Bob and Heetal each time Devika enters it.

The story is about pretences, and how in the name of saving one's face and reputation, lies lead to bigger lies, stemming from wanting to impress family members. For Heetal, she has consistently told that she's married to a rich boy and living it up in a big mansion, doing so to impress her dad (Boman Irani) who has frowned upon her decision to stay in London with Bob. For Sandy, her lie involves something similar to her brother Major Krishna Rao (a stoic faced Arjun Rampal) whom she thinks will frown upon her relationship with the loser Arush, and hence both couples have set the tone for the second half after the interval, playing on the theme and rationale of being perfectly OK to lie if it's done for a noble cause, the definition of noble being quite narrow and for personal benefit.

But here's where the entire film lifts off into the comedic stratosphere, as the people they lie to begin to turn up, and lies leading to bigger ones, with the best parts being the case of mistaken identities which the couples have to continue playing it up, and by the midway mark of their gag, there's a convoluted web of relationships that one group has to play off the other in order to keep the truth from exploding. Somehow it also turned primarily into a guy's film, with the female leads in Dutta and Padukone being largely supporting roles, and the male leads getting into plenty of shenanigans filled with homophobic suspicions. With the arrival of Krishna though there's a tinge of Meet the Parents with Arjun Rampal taking on Robert De Niro's role as the military intelligence interrogator casting that wary eye (hand singals adopted as well) on Arush, whose propensity of being the worst jinx in the house getting conveniently forgotten.

If you're game for a madcap time where comedy stem from identities being swapped and the reliance of wits to get out of sticky situations, then this film is for you although you have to endure a lacklustre first half before the narrative picks up. It's almost like Akshay Kumar's De Dana Dan from last year with that spiderweb of fake relationship ties that will keep you engaged, with finely crafted musical sequences. We know AK can dance, and for all the flak Deepika Padukone got for being stiff, I thought she's slowly gaining her groove as seen by the numerous numbers here. My favourite song here will have to be Loser, but this film, thanks to its second half, had prevented it from tanking like one.

Houseful, another movie in a long list of Bollywood movies with stories "inspired" by a Hollywood movie.

However Houseful is unique as it has not been adapted from one but several Hollywood movies at one time. It has shades of William H Macy's The Cooler, Ben Stiller's starrer Along came Polly, Owen Wilson's You, Me and Dupree and Meet the Parents.

Being heavily adapted from so many sources makes the movie's storyline completely illogical and one would probably have to check his brain out when entering the theater to enjoy such a film.

Another thing that disappointed me was the background score. It did not support the film and felt very minimal and weak. Given the number of hit songs in the movie the background score was a complete letdown.

However, despite having the above mentioned flaws the movie still works. It has many moments which are very hilarious and which makes this movie a complete masala entertainer.

To conclude this movie may not be an intellectual masterpiece but the movie is still entertaining and is a complete paisa wassol

From the days of 'Ikke Pe Ikka' to 'Heyy Baby', Sajid Khan has portrayed himself and his ideas as nothing but slapstick. Drawing enormous criticism for the stupidity that was 'Heyy Baby', he seems to have come to his best.... which doesn't put him on any sort of pedestal but certainly gives you fair returns for your ticket price. While paying tribute to film makers of yesteryears, Sajid Khan introduces us to his latest concoction of slapstick silly comedy - 'Housefull'.

Arush (Akshay Kumar) is such a loser..... smitten with bad luck, his remorse takes him to his childhood buddy, Bob (Ritesh Deshmukh) in London. The attempted comedy in this part, with Hetal (Lara Dutta) falling out of the window, the super powered Vaccuum cleaner and Prada leave you worried about the rest of the film. In the hope of eliminating his bad luck spree, Arush gets married to Devika (Jiah Khan), the daughter of millionaire Casino baron Samtani (Randhir Kapoor) but all is not well after they arrive in an Italian holiday resort. Chunky Pandey at this point provides some refreshing comedy, far better than any he has attempted. Arush meets Sandy (Deepika Padukone), they meet Bob & Hetal, they all meet Hetal's Pappa (Boman Irani) and they in turn meet Sandy's Anna Krishna Rao (Arjun Rampal) and in the end, they all meet the Queen of England.

The bits with Chunky Pandey and Boman Irani are indeed funny but out of the lead actors, Ritesh Deshmukh gets much of the fun dialogues and scenes whereas Akshay Kumar has to cope with being the loser who is put in impossible circumstances. Deepika was anyways only good at smiling so she gets to do that a lot here, Lara Dutta has given her best especially with the Gujrati dialogues while Jiah Khan remained skimpy at best. Chunky Pandey was very passable, given some funny dialogues and situations whereas Boman Irani rose to yet another challenge of being a part of this madness and yet standing out with such a convincingly funny character. Not only does he display his versatility but he rises above all with his spontaneity and hilarious expressions. Watch out for his remarkable thumkas while sleep-walking during a song.

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy may seem over-qualified for this film but their rocking remake of 'Apni toh Jaise Taise' (It's Jhakaas!) and 'O Girl you're mine' with some hilarious lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya in 'He's such a loser' and 'Papa jag jaayega' make this a fun soundtrack.

Sajid Khan has by no means done anything revolutionary here. Pretty sure he didn't intend to either. 'Housefull' falls in the category of 'Welcome', 'Dhamaal', 'Partner' etc and not among the all time greats. Thus, you get a silly but crazy entertainer which thankfully in many parts is howlarious with some really funny one-liners. But then you also have inane slapstick with a vaccuum cleaner, tiger, monkey and laughing gas to no effect. These days, such scenes are just embarrassing to watch.....

Yes, be sure to leave your brain at home as they say and only then will you be able to enjoy this movie to an extent. After a dry spell that consisted only of live IPL matches in theaters, this is a comedy we need before some serious stuff that is lined up for the next 2 months. Don't spend more than Rs. 150 and you will agree that it was at least 'Paisa vasool'.

• 6.99 on a scale of 1-10.

One can't help but feel pity for all the money and resources that has gone down the drain to shape up this awful film. The entire crew & cast enjoyed a royal holiday overseas under the garb of production costs. The director cleverly puts a disclaimer at the very start of the movie that "Housefull" is a tribute to the directors of 70's & 80's hinting the staleness of the product.

The saving grace of the movie is the music. SEL have backed up the product with foot tapping numbers. Background score by Sandeep Chowta is okay'ish. The comedy sequences are completely out of place. And the climax scene which everybody panned - its a straight lift from Charlie Chaplin's "Laughing Gas" only Sajid Khan raped it.

Performances::

Akshay Kumar:: In a desperate attempt to deliver a hit, his performance is sinking faster than titanic.

Ritesh Deshmukh:: Consistent as ever. Did not have much comedy sequences where he could deliver and showcase his talents.

Arjun Rampal:: No good in comedy and his characterisation was awful especially his polygraph machine.

Lara:: Miscast opposite Ritesh.

Jiah Khan:: The Jekyll and Hyde was badly written.

Deepika:: Only beautiful looks.

Chunky Pande: Was irritating in his Aakhree Raasta character.

Boman Irani, Lilette Dubey & Randhir Kapoor:: Wasted

If making a slapstick comedy was the intent then Sajid Khan should learn a lot of things from Hollywood. There exists a genre of slapstick & no brainers delivers complete wholesome entertainment. "Housefull" is a by- product of success-gone-over-the-head when a garbage like "Hey Baby" becomes a hit and the director goes on to make yet another bigger garbage. Nadiadwala & Eros, are you listening?

Housefull is a movie to watch out with your friends who don't carry their intellect always with them, at least not at places where its not required. You are finished if you are going a Sazid Khan's comedy movie with some brain. Don't put your logic, because it hurts when it fails, and it hurts more when it fails at every second scene. So Housefull is a flick to watch out for full fun and big laughter but with above mentioned condition : No Brain please :). Some sequences of the movie are killing and make you roll on your seat with laughter. It's a new kind of weirdo bollywood comedy on the ancient plot of lies and misunderstanding created out of it. Thanks Sazid for not reusing the formula of infinite chaos. Akshay Kumar's acting is Bindaas and his over innocent expressions bring numerous smiles at times. At places Sazid is 10/10 in creating situations and comedy out of it even if it is not taking story anywhere. Music is average apart from 1 track "Mar Javaan". Overall its a watch to pull out your stress. Just go, watch, laugh and enjoy it.