By Martin D’Souza, Glamsham Editorial
Director : Sajid Khan Music : Sajid-Wajid Lyrics : Sameer Anjaan
Starring : Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, Ritesh Deshmukh, Shreyas Talpade, Asin, Jacqueline Fernandez, Randhir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborty, Chunky Pandey, Boman Irani
Exactly two years later, Sajid Khan comes with a sequel to Houseful. This one is more hilarious than the previous. Houseful 2 does have the house full with an array of stars. And yes, it does bring the house down.
Judging by the reaction of the audience in the multiplex, which was almost 50 percent full, Sajid’s gags has you in splits. This one is a full-on paisa vasool fare. Typical Sajid Khan humor. Sticking to its promise of being a comedy, Sajid latches on to that and keeps you holding your sides at times. True, the movie does drag in between, but the ride is worth a watch.
None of the girls from the previous outing have been retained. While Riteish Deskmukh and Akshay Kumar along with Boman Irani are still there, Shazahn Padamsee, Zareen Khan and Asin come in for Lara Dutta, Jiah Khan and Deepika Padukone. For novelty sake there’s Rishi and Randhir Kapoor and also Mithun Chakraborty. Chunky Pandey manages to hold on to his spot as Aakhri Pasta, while John Abraham and Shreyas Talpade give Riteish and Akshay company.
The story set in the UK, hinges on the rivalry between the two brothers Chintu and Daboo which trickles down to their wives and daughters. Both want the richest son-in-law for their daughter. Jai’s (Shreyas) dad has suffered a heart attack after being humiliated by Chintu when the two families meet for a marriage proposal.
Chintu thunders that he wants none other than JD’s (Mithun) son for his daughter. As fate would have it, Jolly (Riteish) JD’s son happens to be Jai’s friend. To get even with Chintu, Jai requests Jolly to help him out. Jolly refuses as he is afraid of his father. Instead, they ask Max (John), their friend, to double up as Jolly.
In another comic twist to the tale, Max (Jolly) lands up in Dabboo’s house by mistake. Jai, not one to spare Chintu then goes to Sunny (Akshay), another college friend, for help. There are now two fake Jolly’s. Jai, has to inadvertently masquerade as the third towards the end. The entire cast lands up at JD’s mansion with Sunny playing the mediator between Jolly and JD and the rest of the gang.
Considering the commotion, Sajid jumps into the thick of things to makes sense out of nonsense. It’s a treat to watch Rishi and Randhir together on screen. Mithun is prolific in his performance while of the boys, only Riteish manages to impress. There’s Marathi, Hindi and Gujarati thrown in for good humour. The girls are just gloss with no one managing to impress with their act.
The costumes are eye-catching and the music, foot-tapping.
Don’t go looking for a masterpiece; Houseful 2 delivers what it promises. Having said that, if the editing was a little sharper, 20 minutes snipped off would have made this film even more hilarious.
