A Kindergarten Entertainment. Review on Housefull 3

Three daughters, three boyfriends and a plan to sabotage their relationship.

This is the third installment of the Housefull series, the first two were directed by Sajid Khan while the third is directed by Sajid-Farhad.

Today films are not made to exploit the skills of actors but to exploit the public. It is a money making business. Once a well-made film becomes a hit, it develops into a ‘Brand’. A poorly made sequel is then packaged & promoted with this ‘Brand’ name, and becomes an undeserving hit as it rides on the success of its prequel. By the time the public realize they are duped, the film has raked in millions. Race 2, Dabang2, Hate Story2, Satya 2, Houseful 2, … fill the list. Thus goes the saying, "Not all hit movies are good" and "Not all good movies are hit". Sadly, at times good movies do not find audiences but a well branded junk entertainment attracts a crowd.

Story in brief: Three daughters of a notorious Mumbai don Urja Nagre(Jackie Shroff) are settled in London under the care of his right hand man Mr. Batook Patel who intends to marry his three sons to them. Mr. Batook learns that the three girls Ganga(Jacqueline Fernandes), Jamuna(Lisa Hayden) and Saraswati(Nargis Fakhri) have boyfriends. In order to sabotage their love plans, he ropes in Aakhri Paasta(Chunkey Pandey), to disguise as a family astrologer and warn the girls that their father would die if one of their boyfriend sets his first step into the house, or if the second utters a single word and the third sets his eye on their dad. To counter the astrologer’s prediction, Sandy(Akshay Kumar) is confined to a wheelchair and cannot walk, Teddy(Ritesh Deshmukh) acts blind and Bunty(Abhishek Bachchan) acts dumb and enter the House.

Cast Performance: The three gorgeous ladies(Jacqueline, Lisa and Nargis) known for their looks and reasonable acting skills suited their slow-witted characters. The talent of Akshay, Ritesh and Abhishek were underutilized. Boman Irani and Jackie Shroff also could not deliver much due to the poor script.

Poorly sketched characters of Akshay & Abhishek: Sandy(Akshay) suffers from DID. No, it is not ‘Dance India Dance’ but ‘Dissociative Identity Disorder’. His character goes into a split personality when he hears the word ‘Indian’ commonly used by British(in the movie) in an abusive racist remark. Akshay looked pathetic copying Jim Carrey from ‘Liar Liar’ beating himself up in the bathroom and his comedy may make you feel sick. After his worst hit ‘All Is Well’ Abhishek Bachchan is once again handed a mike and made to sing only to prove he is unfit as a rapper. His dubbing was horrible.

Pros: The posh locales of London, glamour & glitz contributed to stunning cinematography. The first half generated few giggles.  Good plot, costumes and casting. Good songs & choreography - ‘Pyar ki Maa ki’, ‘Taang Uthake’ and ‘Fake Ishq’. At one point when Sandy hears the word Indian and suffers split personality disorder, Bunty and Teddy call him a Pakistani and an Iraqi just to see if it works as an antidote.

Cons: Poor dubbing, wayward script and ineffective cheap comedy

If the below dialogues suit your taste for comedy, then let me warn you, the amusement level just goes downhill:

Are you Comfortable: Kya aap Table ke liye aaye ho?

We are not kidding: Hum bache nahin bana rahe hai

Calm Down: Naukri niche

You are the apple of my eye: Tum meri sehat hi aankhen ho

Let’s hang out: Chalo latakte hai

You hit the bulls eye: Tune Saand ki aankh mar di

WTF: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Once upon a time: Ek baar ghadi ke upar

Long time back: Lambi ghadi ke peeche

Conclusion: Lot of mulla is squandered on this star studded third installment of the Housefull series and provides nonsensical comedy that will dampen your expectations. Dialogues-Screenplay-Direction is by the duo Sajid – Farhad who have till date not made a sensible nor impactful contribution to the film industry except for ‘Singham’. Their direction has been ordinary and Housefull 3 adds to their list of mediocre films.  In the name of entertainment this film is forgettable and can easily be labeled as a ‘time waster’. To leave your brain at home would not be a wise suggestion hence skip it.