''Housefull'' (also stylized as ''House Full'') is a 2013 Indian

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

-language

family drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to fiction: Fiction – narrative which is made up by the author. Litera ...

directed by Linson Antony. The film stars

Tini Tom Tini Tom is an Indian actor, comedian and mimicry artist from Kerala. He works in Malayalam films and television. Early life Tini was born in North Paravoor, Kerala, India. His father Tomy T.D. is an engineer. He has a sister Tincy. Tom comp ...

Jyothirmayi Jyothirmayi is an Indian actress, television presenter, and former model, who works in Malayalam cinema. Starting her career as a model, she ventured into television, working as an anchor and later starring numerous Television show. Career Jy ...

and

Shammi Thilakan Shammi Thilakan is an Indian actor and dubbing artist who is active in Malayalam films. He is the son of veteran actor Thilakan. He lent his voice for Napoleon in ''Devasuram'', Prem Nazir in ''Kadathanadan Ambadi'' and for Nassar in ''Ghaza ...

, and released on 15 February 2013. Filming for ''Housefull'' began in mid-2012, with the film marking Tom's first leading role.

Synopsis

Ananthan, a 36-year-old police constable who has experienced multiple failures at trying to find a woman to marry. He eventually meets and marries Emily, a textile worker, much to the chagrin of both of their families. The couple tried for a baby in the hopes of placating their family, but were unable to conceive and began a series of

fertility treatment Assisted reproductive technology (ART) includes medical procedures used primarily to address infertility. This subject involves procedures such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), cryopreservation of gametes ...

s. Initially overjoyed when the treatments are successful, Ananthan and Emily are shocked to discover that she was now pregnant with

quadruplets A multiple birth is the culmination of one multiple pregnancy, wherein the mother gives birth to two or more babies. A term most applicable to vertebrate species, multiple births occur in most kinds of mammals, with varying frequencies. Such bir ...

Cast

as Ananthan *

as Emily *

as Kiliyaachan *

Vijayaraghavan Vijayaraghavan (born 20 December 1951) is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He is popular for his character roles. He is the son of popular drama and cinema artist N. N. Pillai. He got his break by playing the iconic ...

as Cherukkappan (Susheelan Nair) *

Guinness Pakru Ajay Kumar (born 31 August 1976), popularly known as Guinness Pakru, is an Indian actor. He has made an entry into the Guinness World Records for being the shortest actor () to play a character in a full-length film. He played the lead role i ...

as Dr. Shenayi *

Kalasala Babu Kalasala Babu (1950 14 May 2018) was an Indian actor who performed on stage, and in television serials and films. On stage Babu had been acting in radio plays while at college. Following his graduation in 1973, Babu acted in ''Paanchajanyam ...

as Janardhanan Nair *

Bhagath Manuel Bhagath Manuel (born November 26, 1986) is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam cinema. He made his debut in Vineeth Sreenivasan's '' Malarvadi Arts Club''. He is known for his performance in '' Doctor Love'' and ''Thattathin Marayathu ...

as Joe *

Bheeman Raghu Bheeman Raghu (born 6 October 1953) is an Indian actor, singer, dancer, former politician and police officer (retired) who appears mainly in Malayalam films and is best known for his villainous and comedy roles. In a career spanning over three ...

as Benchamin Joseph *

Nandhu Nandalal Krishnamoorthy better known by his stage name Nandu is an Indian actor primarily working in Malayalam films. Although he has been in the industry for more than 30 years, he is acclaimed for his performance in Mohanlal' s ''Spirit'', dir ...

as Pookunju * Lakshmipriya as Mumthaz *

Surabhi Lakshmi Surabhi C. M., also known as Surabhi Lakshmi is an Indian film, television, and stage actress who appears in Malayalam films and television. She won the National Film Award for Best Actress in 2016 for portraying the role of a struggling middle ...

as Police officer * Anjana Appukuttan as Sugunavalli * Binu Adimali as Espade * Gomathi Mahadevan as Anandan's mother * Abu Salim as ASP Sharafudeen *

Sonia Sonia, Sonja or Sonya, a name of Greek origin meaning wisdom, may refer to: People * Sonia (name), a feminine given name (lists people named, Sonia, Sonja and Sonya) :* Sonia (actress), Indian film actress in Malayalam and Tamil films :* Sonia ...

* Durga Premjith as Sarayu's daughter

Production

, after doing comic and character roles in over 30 films, was given his first lead role in a film by debutant director Linson Antony, who had previously directed several devotional videos.

, who was not seen in a commercial film for a longer time, was chosen to portray the character of a saleswoman at a textile shop. Four babies were reported to be playing the lead alongside actors Tini Tom and Jyothirmayi, with auditions being held in July 2012 to find "the best ones". The actors were continuously shooting for ''Housefull'' for 40 days throughout September and October 2012, with Jyothirmayi stating that the shoot took more days than what was initially planned, because of the four children involved.

Reception

Critical response

''Housefull'' was received mixed review, with a reviewer for

Sify Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology company providing end-to-end ICT solutions including telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation in ...

giving a neutral review and stating that it was a "meek entertainer, which treads along a rather safe path". Sreenath Nair of ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' was critical of the film, citing that there were "no situations in the script and screenplay by Shiju Nambiath which offer the director a challenge. The duo walks down the much-tread and familiar story lanes to reach a commonplace end".

References

{{Reflist

External links

Houseful
2010s Malayalam-language films 2013 directorial debut films 2013 films