What do you really expect when you walk in to a theater to watch a film like Housefull 3? If you have been aware of the previous two films of the franchise, then obviously, you will expect the silly and the dumb to play out in equal proportions, right? If you have not, then it might be nightmarish. But then Housefull is a genre film, created by Sajid Khan, who helmed the reins of previous two films as well. However, in this one, producer Sajid Nadiadwala has handed over the command to Sajid – Farhad, who have written many films for Rohit Shetty and directed the 2014 disaster, Entertainment. No big hopes, there! In my honest opinion, Housefull was a decent watch but Housefull 2 got excruciating. That apart, when the franchise is sort of successful and into its third film, one cannot continue complaining about the genre of it all. Yes, Housefull films rest on wafer-thin plots, lot of exaggerations, silly jokes, under-written female characters, cheap potshots on sensitive issues and a hell lot of caricature. But can they entertain? Because if they can, without crossing the line of humor of course, then the purpose is fulfilled. Intelligence may be insulted but the ticket price cannot be considered to have been completely wasted, no matter what you choose to believe.Continue reading “Housefull 3 Movie Review : Jaundice Better Or Typhoid?”
Tag Archives: Housefull 2
Average Bollywood Films: 2012
This year has seen a lot of A-List films that could have been relegated to the ‘Worst of the Year’ lists had they not been redeemed due to one or maybe two factors. Sometimes it’s the lead actors, sometimes it’s a few sparkling moments. These factors ensure that the movie is not a complete washout for you. For some, they may be good enough to elevate the film to a ‘Best’ status.Continue reading “Average Bollywood Films: 2012”
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Who is My Audience?
Post the release of Housefull 2, an engaging debate has ensued. The film was rubbished by most critics with may be two notable exceptions. Those two depend on currency notes delivered at their doorstep to determine the star ratings in their reviews and hence never taken seriously. But it has been put on record that the film has had a box office bonanza and been declared one of the biggest hits of recent times. The film makers have scoffed at their critics and the bogey that espouses their cause,have asked the critics either to singe their faces or cover it with soot.Continue reading “Who is My Audience?”
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All you need is a hit
So what rating did you accord to Houseful 2? This is an oft asked question to me by those who know I review films for some money (the only fact to substitute my fledgling claim of being a professional film critic) and those who happen to read my reviews every once in a while.
I tried answering that question initially. I said it’s bad, ugly, despicable piece of cinema- for most parts it does not merit being called that- and I still stand by that view of mine. Sometimes, my questioner would agree with me and what would follow is a short sigh-laden conversation of how cinematic standards are going to the dogs of late. A majority though, disagreed with me-vehemently at that. They found the movie hilarious. They just couldn’t stop laughing all the way till the end. Some even went to the extent of calling it the best thing to hit the silver screen this season.
To be honest I was expecting this.
Given the box office trends in the past decade, the dumb, the dumber and the dumbest are the only ones raking in the moolah. Golmaal 1,2&3, Houseful 1, Ready, Welcome, a slew of “intended” comedies have hit me and the few who don’t find these funny hard. Making us wonder time and again how these films run.
We, the lovers of the art of cinema, dismissed these as flukes, flashes in the pan. Releasing on dry weeks when no other biggie released or during festivals when all the public wanted was to have a good time at the theaters. Feel good factor, ample star cast, leading star’s winning streak or the good old plain simple good luck- we gave numerous justifications to their success. Houseful 2 is out now, making new records for opening day collections for the lead stars and is on its way to being the director’s third huge mindless comedy. Making me wonder that this cannot be just a flash in the pan. The success of these films is a pattern, if not a growing trend.
The success of these films, rather the continued success of these films, is an indication of a new emerging genre in Hindi cinema. Our audiences love them, in them they find security, in them they feel safe.
As Bollywood is changing, so are the movies it makes. The “formula” is changing; the love story is no longer a rich girl meets poor boy saga. The guy is no more “take the heroine and walk into the sunset” macho man, he does settle with just a friendship (Ek Main AurEkTu).The films are getting grittier, the concepts out of the box, the technique is slicker, the scale grander. Films today demand from the audience more than just an across the board suspension of disbelief. They demand that the audience think. They demand that the audience participate in the journey of the movie, not just sit back and witness a spectacle. For some, this is exactly the kind of cinema they have always been waiting for. This is evident from the success of “hatke” films like Kahani, Delhi Belly and Shaitaan.For most though, this is a challenge, a threat, a situation that is uncomfortable and which they would avoid if given a choice.
It is perhaps this that makes movies like Houseful and Ready click- the fact that these films demand nothing form the audience.
Everyone loves to spend time every once in a while away from their mundane lives. Everyone wants those few odd hours away from miseries however big or small. Some of us love to spend those three odd hours in an AC hall munching on popcorn, with a gang of friends just whistling at skimpily clad bimbetteon the screen.
Some love to watch a film that is just entertainment, however banal or juvenile. They crave for a film that is all about dazzling stars in dazzling set pieces singing dazzling songs. Few call them the masses, few paint them as those incapable of appreciating higher art, everyone agrees they are the ones with the maximum money to be spent at the ticket windows and they are the ones warming those theatre seats time and again each time a Houseful releases.
So then, where does that leave us lovers of cinema with art?
Is it time we stopped crying hoarse at the quality (or lack of it) of these films? Is it time we stop cribbing about the standards (or the death of it) of cinema these films exhibit? Is it time we judge these films with a yardstick that is as unique as the amazing success of these films? May be if we stopped judging these films against our sensibilities and saw them as a new genre altogether, we might actually have an answer to the question in the beginning of this piece that is in accordance to the many who find Houseful 2 entertaining?
Sometimes, all it takes to make the world a better place is a new pair of sunglasses. May be all it takes to make Houseful 2 palatable is a different scale to measure it with.
Meanwhile, another “reader” of my reviews has just called me elitist incapable of appreciating genuine entertainers. Yes, he was upset that I found Houseful disgusting.
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Housefull is full…..of nothing
Could a movie be sillier? Could it be dumber? Could the movie be responsible for people ending up stupider than they were when they entered the hall? Could grey cells actually leave in the midst of a song?
Probably not, but I hope Sajid Khan and Sajid Nadiadwala do not take this as a challenge to create something this epic at an even further dumbed down version for I believe if movies got dumber than this we might as well start throwing our feces at each other.
I will now attempt to tell you a “brief” about the story.
Two fathers hate each other, so do their entire families. They want their daughters to get married to the “richest and best” man in UK so that they can hate each other even more and rub it in the other one’s face. One of them mocks a prospect groom’s dad, he (the dad) ends up in the ICU with a heart attack due to that. The “Groom-to-be” (we shall now refer to him as GTB) vows revenge, hires Con-Man No 1 (Now referred as CM1). CM1 goes to wrong house, falls for wrong girl. GTB is not deterred and hires another con man, CM2 (who is also the enemy of CM1) goes to right house, falls in love with right girl. Of course both ConMen come with the SAME story of being the son of the SAME man and both the families who are about to give their daughters to these men haven’t the slightest clue about this. (Fucking Father of the Year Award nominees…Right?)
Anyway GTB now ends up realizing that his background story doesn’t hold well cause the con men story start to overlap. The story has a hole since the con men both claim that their father is an old man with a gun who was once a dacoit and is now the richest man in UK. (Another Father of the Year nominee! The guys here might as well get their kids married to the Yakuza clan!). Throw in a police officer who ALSO wants HIS daughter to get married to that dacoit’s son (throw another name in the mix of Father of the Year). The actual son though loves another girl who is an obese wannabe porn star and the police officer’s daughter loves another guy who ends up being the prospective “Groom-to-be” from where this story originated. They all end up marrying each other.
(deep breath)
And if you think THIS is complicated, it gets worse. Add hammy acting, sad songs, pitiable dialogues, a clown dressed in what can only be described as ice cream colors and I would have an easier time explaining the time space continuum rather than what the directors were trying to showcase in the movie.
As far as the cast goes, the only person who stands out in this role as if it is his second skin is Akshay Kumar. The role of Sunny suits him like a James Bond suit, whereas the rest of them look like they are wearing an underwear one size smaller than they should. John Abraham may be lifting dumbbells, bikes, trucks, tanks, buildings etc but he wouldn’t know acting if it bit him in the face. The time isn’t too far when he starts with doing item numbers only. The remaining men (snigger snigger) of Shreyas Talpade and Ritesh Deshmukh are only in the movie to get bit on their crotch and their butt respectively and I doubt they had any other significant scene in this movie. Rishi Kapoor and Randhir Kapoor make me feel sad and might be the reasons the Brits don’t want us their nation anymore. Moreover if the Italians saw Chunky Pandey I am sure they would follow suit and bar us from their nation as well.
The women in the movie are perfectly suited for their roles; No dialogues, just wear skimpy clothes and act like they are serious. They are all gorgeous on screen, except Asin who looks a pale shade of what Jacqueline Fernandez left over from her make-up. Asin and acting are parallel lines, not in the essence that they would be together forever, but in the fact that she would never learn acting and neither will acting touch her with a pole. She could be more irritating but then the movie would have her bald, beefed up and searching for the people who raped and killed her career. Of the other women only Jacqueline Fernandez is worth a mention and to be honest it is only because she looked by far the best of the lot. Zarine Khan as the wannabe porn star and the fourth girl who barely has three lines in the movie were just there for show of skin. They might as well have been part of the background and blended in with it.
The storyline is tough to follow as mentioned above, the direction is….well …its been directed, so that’s all you can say about that. The dialogues sound like something a 10 year old might spew out. Overall though, the movie is technically well made (aka background music, editing, cinematography etc ) and probably one of the saving grace parts in it.
But then despite all my writing and raving and ranting of “People of This World!! Please spare yourself the numbness, the dumbness and the sheer stupendity of the stupidity that is this movie…go home and read a book!” this movie will be a hit. It will rake in the millions due to people enjoying the brainless humor.
To end on the note, a hit movie is definitely not a good movie (vice versa follows suit) and this movie is not for the ones who watch films for art, its more for those who just want to sit in a hall, chomp pop corn and snigger at stupidity. Watch it at your own risk!
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Housefull is full…..of nothing
Could a movie be sillier? Could it be dumber? Could the movie be responsible for people ending up stupider than they were when they entered the hall? Could grey cells actually leave in the midst of a song?
Probably not, but I hope Sajid Khan and Sajid Nadiadwala do not take this as a challenge to create something this epic at an even further dumbed down version for I believe if movies got dumber than this we might as well start throwing our feces at each other.Continue reading “Housefull is full…..of nothing”
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Housefull 2- Trailer
If you thought Housefull was a pain to watch then here’s Sajid Khan to trouble us even more with Housefull-2. Produced by Sajid Nadiadwala again, this film has an even bigger cast ( compared to Housefull ) with Akshay Kumar,John Abraham,Riteish Deshmukh, Shreyas Talpade,Asin,Zarine Khan,Shazahn Padamsee, Jacqueline Fernandez,Mithun Chakraborty,Rishi Kapoor,Randhir Kapoor and Boman Irani phew! in the movie.Continue reading “Housefull 2- Trailer”
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