Housefull 5: A Crime Against Comedy
Review: Housefull 5
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ (1/5)
Genre: Supposed Comedy / Crime Thriller
Verdict: The worst comedy-thriller ever made in Indian cinema.
Director: Tarun Mansukhani
Writers: Farhad Samji, Tarun Mansukhani
Screenplay & Story: Sajid Nadiadwala
Producers: Sajid Nadiadwala, Warda Nadiadwala, Firuzi Khan
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Abhishek Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Fardeen Khan, Shreyas Talpade, Nana Patekar, Jackie Shroff, Dino Morea, Jacqueline Fernandez, Nargis Fakhri, Sonam Bajwa, Chitrangda Singh, Soundarya Sharma, Chunky Panday, Johnny Lever, Nikitin Dheer
Cinematography: V. Manikandan
Editor: Rameshwar S. Bhagat
Music (Score): Julius Packiam
Songs: Yo Yo Honey Singh, White Noise Collective, Tanishk Bagchi, Kratex
Verdict
Housefull 5 is a painfully loud, forced, and directionless film that neither entertains nor amuses. Riddled with vulgar jokes, lazy writing, and a bloated ensemble cast that adds zero value — this 165-minute slog is pure cinematic torture.
Positives
— Lavishly shot on a cruise and in other exotic locations.
— Eye-catching cinematography.
— High production value with glamorous costumes.
— One decent song: "Lal Pari."
Negatives
— A disaster in story, screenplay, and direction.
— Vulgar, outdated, and unfunny humor.
— No memorable scenes or punchlines.
— A laughably poor crime-thriller angle.
— Zero emotional connection or entertainment.
— A star-studded cast, but nobody shines.
Performances
Akshay Kumar has the maximum screen time, yet delivers a strictly average performance. Given his recent streak of flops, one wonders if he even remembers his last hit. His participation in such a low-grade comedy is baffling.
The rest — Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh, Fardeen Khan, Nana Patekar, Jackie Shroff, Dino Morea, Nikitin Dheer, and Sanjay Dutt — feel like glorified junior artists. Their roles are forgettable and underutilized.
The female leads — Jacqueline Fernandez, Chitrangda Singh, Nargis Fakhri, Sonam Bajwa, and Soundarya Sharma — are reduced to ornamental glamour. Their appearances are limited to song sequences and costumes designed for skin show, adding no substance. None has a single impactful moment. They all look like C-grade sophisticated junior artists who were cast to show their skin.
Even the comedy brigade — Chunky Pandey, Riteish Deshmukh, Johnny Lever, and Shreyas Talpade — fails to raise even a chuckle.
Direction
Tarun Mansukhani, who once delivered Dostana (2008) and the forgettable Drive (2019), is a puzzling choice to helm this franchise installment. This is by far the weakest and most embarrassing chapter in the Housefull series. He should gracefully retire from direction.
Writing
Sajid Nadiadwala claims credit for both the story and screenplay, but it feels like a textbook case of lazy, uninspired writing. The plot is nonsensical, the screenplay is erratic, and the dialogues are shockingly dull.
Example: A character who is supposedly 100 years old has three sons aged between 40–60. Logic? Nonexistent.
The crime angle has been forced into the drama. Hence, the entire film is neither a comedy nor a thriller. Directors of thriller films would commit suicide after watching this nonsense.
Music
Despite the presence of top composers like Tanishk Bagchi, Julius Packiam, and Yo Yo Honey Singh, only "Lal Pari" makes any impact. The rest of the songs are instantly forgettable and serve as filler content.
Editing
At 165 minutes, the film feels never-ending. The pacing is sluggish, and scenes drag on without purpose. One word: torture.
Box Office & Marketing Gimmicks
Reportedly made on a whopping ₹375 crore budget, the film opened advance bookings on Saturday. By Wednesday, only around 50,000 tickets had been sold. To salvage the optics, reports claim the makers resorted to block or fake bookings, bumping the count to 2 lakh — still an embarrassingly low number for such a high-profile release.
Even holiday audiences (including the Bakrid crowd on June 7th) are unlikely to back this debacle. It’s a sad, desperate attempt at damage control — the kind of gimmick you expect when creativity has completely dried up.
If box office hype needed a face, maybe they should’ve hired Dinesh Vijan — the master of PR-led fantasy collections.
Final Word
Housefull 5 is an insult to comedy, a disaster in storytelling, and a total misuse of talent and resources. Avoid it at all costs.
It’s a colossal waste of money, time, and mental peace — and may damage your brain and your family’s sanity if watched together.
On the 75th anniversary of Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, one would have hoped for a celebration. Instead, we got a catastrophe.
– Narendra Gupta