Housefull 3 Review — Strictly for lovers of the mindless genre

Film: Housefull 3 (U/A)
Director: Farhad-Sajid
Producers: Nadiadwala Grandson
Writer: Farhad-Sajid
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh, Boman Irani, Jackie Shroff, Jacqueline Fernandez, Nargis Fakhri, Lisa Haydon, Chunkey Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5

You don’t need an iota of cinematic knowledge to know what to expect from a film like Housefull 3. As the general rules of strorytelling and logic do not apply here, the basic question is whether it succeeds in tickling your funny bone. The answer falls in the affirmative but not in entirety. Despite the laughs, this Farhad-Sajid film suffers from repetitiveness and a few other issues. 

Housefull 3 tells the story of businessman Bakul Patel (Irani), who stays in London with his three ‘sanskari’ daughters, Gracy (Fernandez), Sarah (Fakhri) and Jenny (Haydon). The father doesn’t want his daughters to get married ever for a superstitious reason, and is happy in his wealthy little world.

Little does he know that his girls are anything but sanskari (which means cultured, but in this context means homely and asexual) and are in love with Sandy (Kumar), Bunty (Bachchan) and Teddy (Deshmukh). In trying to convince Patel to allow his daughters to marry them, the three men are forced to act crippled, mute and blind, respectively. Their mission becomes tougher when former gangster Urja Nagre (Shroff) enters the scene.

Needless to say, it is vital to keep your topmost organ at rest while watching films of this genre. If you can’t, please stay miles away. If you can, there is a good chance that you will be entertained. As per Farhad-Sajid’s speciality, Housefull 3 is full of situational and slapstick humour and lots of PJs. They are enough to keep you hooked for 134 minutes. The idea of a few actors taking a dig at their real lives works well.

But there are issues that keep Housefull 3 in the could-have-been-better category. The whole idea of pretending to be someone you are not has been done to death now. And the way the riddle is solved in the end isn’t very amusing.

Though there is no room for logic in such films, one factor that ought not to be allowed even in the most mindless entertainer jars: Housefull 3 shows the three female leads to be stupid as stone. What also hurts the film is the closet racism and the way physically challenges are used to create humour.

In out-and-out entertainers, it is important for the music to be impressive. But apart from ‘Pyar ki maa ki,’ none of the songs is noteworthy. We wonder at the decision of the producers to rope in five music directors. On the technical aspects, camerawork and a special background score for Shroff’s character fall in the positive category. 

The performances are as per the need. Akshay Kumar once again shows his impressive comic timing. However, we have seen him perform such antics in umpteen films now. Abhishek Bachchan and Riteish Deshmukh succeed in doing what was expected of them. 

Boman Irani fits the character but overdoes it on a few occasions. Jacqueline Fernandez, Nargis Fakhri and Lisa Haydon struggle to act. Their silly characterization is also to be blamed for this. In the role of a baddie, Jackie Shroff isn’t bad. In the iconic role of Aakhri Pasta, Chunkey Pandey is once again funny.

Overall, Housefull 3 is a one-time watch but only if you are game for crazy, mindless entertainers. Considering its high budget, one wonders if the film would fill the till at the box office.