Review: 'Housefull' is a comedy of errors

Film: Housefull
Director: Sajid Nadiadwala
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Arjun Rampal, Ritesh Deshmukh, Lara Dutta, Jiah Khan, Randhir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone
Rating: ***

Sajid Nadiadwala’s Housefull is a comedy of errors. Aarush (Akshay Kumar) is low on luck. He believes, his luck will change the day he finds true love. Pooja (Malaika Arora Khan in a special appearance) rejects him because of his bad luck. Threatened by her strict brother, Major Krishna Rao (Arjun Rampal), Aarush lands up in close friend Bob’s (Ritesh Deshmukh) house in London. Bob’s wife, Hetal (Lara Dutta), sets him up with Devika (Jiah Khan), the daughter of her boss, Kishore Samtani (Randhir Kapoor). Aarush gets married to Devika but she leaves him for her foreigner-boyfriend. Soon, Aarush meets Sandy (Deepika Padukone) and the two fall in love. Turns out later that Sandy is the other sister of Krishna Rao.

Hetal’s father (Boman Irani) is under the mistaken belief that son-in-law Bob is a filthy rich man. Likewise, Sandy’s brother is under the impression that Aarush is very rich. Things go terribly wrong when Hetal’s father and Sandy’s brother land up in London around the same time. Circumstances force Aarush to pretend to be Hetal’s husband in front of her father, and Sandy’s boyfriend (which he actually is) in front of the major. To make matters worse, Devika’s father also comes to London at the same time.

There have been several earlier films based on comedies of errors. The recent All The Best, for one, had a very similar storyline. But this subject does have some new twists and turns, including that of a man having three ‘beloveds’. The screenplay has several interesting anecdotes but what is lacking is consistency because of which it doesn’t turn out to be a laugh riot.

The problem with the screenplay is that it hops from one scene to another and often forgets what’s been tackled before just a few minutes. An instance in point is the track of the child of Hetal and Aarush. Once the real mother of the child takes him away right in front of Hetal’s father, the writers haven’t even bothered to explain how Hetal and Aarush must’ve handled the situation thereafter. Likewise, the comedy tracks of Aakhri Pasta (Chunkey Panday) and Zulekha (Lilette Dubey) are forgotten as per the convenience of the writers. But the good thing about the screenplay is that it keeps the viewer engaged completely in the drama.

The climax will not appeal to many for the simple reason that while the characters are rolling in laughter on the screen, the audience isn’t. Nevertheless, its novelty factor is bound to go in its favour. Anvita Dutt’s dialogues are extremely funny and witty. Note, for instance, the dialogues of Aakhri Pasta and also Aarush’s dialogue in the introductory scene of Zulekha – Yeh vidhwa slow motion mein kyon chal rahi hai?.

Akshay Kumar gets into the skin of the character and entertains in his own style. Ritesh Deshmukh is also very good. Especially when he pretends to be gay, Ritesh brings the house down with laughter. Arjun Rampal does justice to his role of a strict brother. Deepika Padukone looks bewitching and acts with aplomb. Lara Dutta proves yet again that she can be fantastic in comedies. Jiah Khan looks hot and acts ably in a comparatively shorter role. Boman Irani is terrific and leaves a lasting impression. Chunkey Panday has a superb comic track and he does the fullest justice to it. Randhir Kapoor plays the boisterous father of Devika (Jiah Khan) naturally. Lilette Dubey is extraordinary. Malaika Arora Khan and Jacqueline Fernandez add star value in special appearances.

As director, Sajid Khan keeps the audience completely engaged in his out-and-out commercial drama. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s music is already hit. With Farah Khan’s choreography, every song becomes a visual delight. Vikas Sivaraman’s camerawork is splendid. The foreign locations, on which the film has been shot, are heavenly. 

Housefull will ensure full houses in the initial weekend, after which it will settle down in the plus category, keeping everyone (producers, distributors, exhibitors and the public) happy. The drought of big/successful releases in the last two months will further help the chances of the film as the public is hungry for entertainment.