''Housefull 4'' is a 2019 Indian

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

-language

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

action comedy film Action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. The genre is most prevalent in film with action comedy films, though several TV series fit this genre. Film The action comedy film is a film genre that combines aspects of actio ...

directed by

Farhad Samji Farhad Samji (born 5 May 1974) is an Indian music composer, writer, and film director who works in Hindi cinema. He is known for directing films like ''Housefull 4'' and ''Bachchhan Paandey'' independently. He has also made special appearances i ...

and produced by

Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment Pvt Ltd (NGE) is an Indian film production company based in Mumbai. The Nadiadwala family have been in film production since 1955, continuing this legacy Sajid Nadiadwala established the company in 2005. It i ...

and

Fox Star Studios Star Studios (formerly known as Fox Star Studios) is an Indian motion picture production and distribution company. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Disney Star, part of the Disney International Operations segment of The Walt Disney Company. Th ...

. The film is the fourth installment of '' Housefull'' franchise, and stars a cast of

Akshay Kumar Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (born 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian-born naturalised Canadian Quote: "(Former prime minister Stephen) Harper campaigned in 2011 alongside one of Modi's biggest celebrity backer ...

Riteish Deshmukh Riteish Vilasrao Deshmukh (born 17 December 1978) is an Indian actor, comedian, television presenter, writer, director and film producer. He is the son of former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Vilasrao Deshmukh. He works in Hindi and Marathi cin ...

Bobby Deol Vijay Singh Deol (born 27 January 1967) popularly known as Bobby Deol, is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema and web series. A member of the List of Hindi film families#Deol family, Deol family, he is the younger son of veteran actor Dhar ...

Kriti Sanon Kriti Sanon (born 27 July 1990) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi and Telugu-language films. After pursuing a degree in engineering from the Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, she briefly worked as a fashion model. Sanon began h ...

Pooja Hegde Pooja Hegde (; born 13 October 1990) is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Telugu films, in addition to Hindi and Tamil films. She began her career as a model and was crowned as the second runner-up at the 2010 I Am She–Miss Univ ...

and

Kriti Kharbanda Kriti Kharbanda (born 29 October 1990) is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Kannada, Hindi and Telugu language films. After beginning her career as a model, she made her acting debut with the Telugu film '' Boni'' (2009) and her Kann ...

in the lead roles. The plot deals with

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...

, Three brothers are set to marry three sisters. However, a peek into the distant past reveals to one of the brothers that their brides have been mixed up in their current reincarnation. The film was half directed by

Sajid Khan Sajjad Khan (born 28 December 1951) is an Indian actor and singer. Born into poverty in the Bombay slums, he became the adopted son of Bollywood filmmaker Mehboob Khan, founder of Mehboob Studios. He worked in a handful of Indian films, debutin ...

, who had also directed the first two installments, but was replaced by

midway during the shooting, due to '' Me Too'' allegations. Nadiadwala claimed the film to be the highest-budgeted Indian comedy film. The film was theatrically released in India on 25 October 2019 during the occasion of

Diwali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...

and received mixed to negative reviews, with praise directed towards Kumar's performance, visual effects and production values, but criticism towards it's dialogues, storyline, music and direction. Although film became a major commercial success by grossing more than 300 crores worldwide. It went on to become the 4th highest grosser of 2019 and the 49th highest grossing Indian film of all time.

Plot

The story of the film is based on reincarnation, and spans a period of 600 years from 1419 to 2019. Harry, Max and Roy are three brothers who live in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Harry, a

barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

gets frequent bizarre flashes of a past era. His forgetful nature causes him to misplace a don Michael's bag of 5 million pounds whose henchman demands them to return the money. To fulfill this, Harry, Roy, and Max get engaged to Pooja, Neha and Kriti, the 3 respective daughters of rich businessman Manraj Thakral. But soon all of the 3 trios fall in love, and their wedding preparations begin. Soon circumstances cause the wedding to be in Sitamgarh. There all of them meet Aakhri Pasta, a bellboy at their hotel who recognizes them as reincarnated people of 600 years ago in 1419. Harry realizes his flashes have a connection with Pasta's claims, and gets to know the past from him in

Madhavgarh Madhavgarh is a small village in area of Satna district, Madhya Pradesh, India, which is 7 km from Satna Satna is a city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of Satna district. It is 7th largest city an ...

. In 1419, Madhavgarh's Rajkumar Bala was banished by his father Maharaj Parikshitap for trying to kill him to become king. His servant Pehla Pasta took him to Sitamgarh (then a kingdom) whose king Surya Singh Rana wanted grooms for his daughters. Bala planned to marry the eldest Madhu to become Maharaj and meets Bangdu, an effeminate dance teacher who's dating the second daughter Mala. Meena, the youngest loves her brave bodyguard Dharamputra. Bala helps them to be together and also they get him and Madhu united. The plan works as Surya announces their weddings, but his nephew Suryabhan who wants the throne kills Sitamgarh's enemy clan leader and frames the couples for it. The leader's brother Gama fights for revenge. Bala realizes he truly loves Madhu. The wedding mandap collapses and kills the couples and Gama. Back in present, Harry realizes the grooms are set to marry the wrong brides. Pasta helps Harry remind Roy and Max of their previous lives. Pappu Rangeela, a

qawwali Qawwali ( Punjabi: (Shahmukhi), (Gurmukhi); Urdu: (Nasta'liq); Hindi: क़व्वाली (Devanagari); Bengali: কাওয়ালি (Bengali)) is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing, originating from the Indian subcontinent ...

singer and Gama's reincarnation, enters but has no recollection of his past. Pasta finds a painting of their past lives' wedding day, which shows Madhu-Bala, Mala-Bangdu and Meena-Dharamputra to make the girls remember their past. Before they can show painting to the girls, it is caught by Pappu, who remembers his life as Gama and crashes the wedding, leading Pooja and Neha to remember everything. Michael, in fact Suryabhan's reincarnation, shows up at wedding for his money and shoots Gama. Kriti remembers everything when she sees Michael and also reveals the mandap hadn't collapsed - Suryabhan broke it down to kill everyone so he could be the Maharaj. Michael recounts his past and boasts how he killed Gama's brother. Pappu hears this and pushes Michael into the collapsing mandap, thus bringing his revenge. The film ends on a happy note as Harry-Kriti, Roy-Pooja and Max-Neha get married, thus completing their 600-year-old love story.

Cast

as Rajkumar Bala Dev Singh/Harsh "Harry" Sinha (

dual role A dual role (also known as a double role) refers to one actor playing two roles in a single production. Dual roles (or a larger number of roles for an actor) may be deliberately written into a script, or may instead be a choice made during produc ...

) *

as Dharamputra Mahabali and Max Sinha (dual role) *

as Bangdu Pratap Singh a.k.a. Bangdu Maharaj and Roy Sinha *

Rana Daggubati Ramanaidu "Rana" Daggubati (; born 14 December 1984) is an Indian actor and producer known primarily for his work in Telugu language films, in addition to Hindi and Tamil languages. Rana is described as one of the few actors in India who were ...

as Raja Gama Chandrendar/Ashish "Pappu" Rangeela (

) *

as Rajkumari Madhu and Kriti Thakral *

as Rajkumari Mala and Pooja Thakral *

as Rajkumari Meena and Neha Thakral *

Chunky Pandey Suyash Panday (born 26 September 1962), better known by his stage name Chunky Panday, is an Indian actor who works in Bollywood films. He has appeared in over 100 films in a career that has spanned over three decades. His most successful films ...

as Pehla Pasta and Aakhri Pasta * Ranjeet Bedi as Maharaja Suryadev "Surya" Singh Rana and Manraj Thakral *

Sharad Kelkar Sharad Kelkar (born 7 October 1976) is an Indian film actor and voice artist from Mumbai, Maharashtra. He works primarly in Hindi films, Marathi films. Kelkar has appeared as lead in television serials for brief period of time, now he do web se ...

as Suryabhan and Gangster Michael D'Costa *

Johnny Lever Johnny Lever (born John Prakash Rao Janumala; 14 August 1957) is an Indian actor and popular comedian who is known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is one of the first stand-up comedians in India. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, inc ...

as Winston Churchgate and Giggly *

Jamie Lever Jamie Lever is an Indian actress and comedian who works in Hindi films and television. She is the daughter of comedian Johnny Lever. Early life and education Lever is the daughter of the comedian Johnny Lever (John Prakash Rao Janumala) and Su ...

as Giggly: Madhu, Mala and Meena's servant *

Nawazuddin Siddiqui Nawazuddin Siddiqui (; born 19 May 1974) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is an alumnus of the National School of Drama. Siddiqui's feature film debut was alongside director Prashant Bhargava in ''Patang'' (2012). He ga ...

as Dharmesh Ramsey a.k.a. Ramsey Baba (special appearance) *

Manoj Pahwa Manoj Pahwa (born 8 December 1963), is an Indian film and television actor who is noted for his role as Bhatia in the comedy series ''Office Office'' (2001). He has acted in over 70 films as a character actor, including '' 7½ Phere'' (2005), ' ...

as Viraj Sehni a.k.a. Big Bhai (special appearance) *

Parikshit Sahni Parikshit Sahni (born 1 January 1944) is an Indian actor who is known for playing the lead in TV series Barrister Vinod, ''Gul Gulshan Gulfaam'' (Doordarshan) and ''Gaatha'' (Star Plus). He has also appeared in three of Rajkumar Hirani's block ...

as Maharaja Parikshitap Dev Singh (special appearance) *

Archana Puran Singh Archana Puran Singh (born 26 September 1962) is an Indian actress and television personality. She is known for her comedy roles in several Bollywood movies and as a judge in the comedy shows ''The Kapil Sharma Show'' and ''Comedy Circus''. She ...

as Varsha Sinha (photo only) *

Shakti Kapoor Shakti Kapoor (born Sunil Kapoor; 3 September 1952) is an Indian actor and comedian who appears in Bollywood films. Known for his villainous and comic roles in Hindi films, he has featured in over 600 films. In the 1980s and 1990s, Kapoor teame ...

as Prabhakar Sinha (photo only) * Sham Mashalkar as Darbari *

Prithvi Zutshi Prithvi or Prithvi Mata (Sanskrit: पृथ्वी, ', also पृथिवी, ', "the Vast One") is the Sanskrit name for the earth, as well as the name of a devi (goddess) in Hinduism and some branches of Buddhism. In the Vedas, her conso ...

as Shekhar Siskeria *

Saurabh Sachdeva Saurabh Sachdeva is an Indian actor and acting coach. He started his film career in ''Maroon,'' which was released in 2016. He received critical acclaim for his character Suleiman Isa in the Netflix series '' Sacred Games'' in 2018. A veteran a ...

as Raazdaar * Saurabh Srivastava as Lakhan * Jitendra Bamgude as a Goon * Gursharn Arya as pasta brother

Release

The film was theatrically released in India on 25 October 2019 during the

festival along with Vijay starrer ''

Bigil ''Bigil'' () is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language sports action film written and directed by Atlee and produced by Kalpathi S. Aghoram under the banner AGS Entertainment. The film stars Vijay in the titular role. It also stars Nayanthara, Jacki ...

'' and

Karthi Karthik Sivakumar (born 25 May 1977), better known by his stage name Karthi, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. He has won three Filmfare Awards South, an Edison Award, a SIIMA Award and a Tamil Nadu State Film Award. ...

-starrer ''

Kaithi Kaithi (), also called Kayathi () or Kayasthi (), is a historical Brahmic script that was used widely in parts of Northern and Eastern India, primarily in the present-day states of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar. In particular, it was us ...

''.

Reception

Box office

''Housefull 4''s opening day domestic collection was 16.50 crore. On the second day, the film collected 17.00 crore. On the third day, the film collected 13.00 crore, taking total opening weekend collection to 46.50 crore. , with a gross of 245 crore in India and 51 crore overseas, the film has a worldwide gross collection of 296 crore and is the 7th highest-grossing Hindi film of 2019.

Critical response

Komal Nahta Komal Nahta (born 30 April 1964) is an Indian film trade analyst. Nahta is the publisher of "Film Information" and also a television show host. He is an anchor of the trade show ETC Bollywood Business on the Bollywood TV channels ETC and Zee Cinem ...

of ''Film Information'' said, "''Housefull 4'' is not a very entertaining fare and has ordinary merits. On the one hand is the festival period which will work in its favour and on the other hand is the word of mouth which will work against its interests." Sreeparna Sengupta of ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

'', giving two and half stars out of five, noted that due to general silliness, there were mindless comic moments and scenes of low-brow humour in the film. She opined that it was a drag in portions and jokes were stale. She concluded, "Overall, ''Housefull 4'' ends up as a complete mad caper. Which, if you're a fan of the Housefull brand of comedy, might appeal to you. But if you are not, then proceed with caution. Trade analyst and critic

Taran Adarsh Taran Adarsh (born 13 June 1965) is an Indian film critic and trade analyst. He is best known for giving trade figures and box office updates on social media. Career Taran Adarsh started his journalism career at the age of 15 with ''Trade Gui ...

gave the film one and half stars out of five and called it as "disappointing". Criticising writing, direction and over the top performances, he noted that it is the weakest film in Housefull franchise, which failed to make audience laugh.

Soundtrack

The film's music is composed by

Sohail Sen Sohail Sen (born 24 June 1984) is an Indian film composer, musician and singer who works in Bollywood. He debuted as a film composer with the Hindi film ''Sirf'' (2008), which went majorly unnoticed. Later, he gained fame as a Hindi film compose ...

and

Sandeep Shirodkar Sandeep Shirodkar is an Indian film score composer, music director and record producer. He has also worked as an arranger of songs for other composers. He has composed background scores for notable films like ''Dabangg'', '' Bodyguard'', ''Onc ...

, with lyrics written by

Sameer Anjaan Shitala Pandey, better known as Sameer Anjaan, is an Indian lyricist, writing songs such as "Mujhe Raat Din Bas", predominantly in Hindi language films. He is a Guinness World Record holder for writing the most songs. He was awarded this hono ...

and Vayu. ''"Bhoot Raja Bahar Aaja"'' composed by

Laxmikant–Pyarelal Laxmikant–Pyarelal were an Indian composer duo, consisting of Laxmikant Shantaram Patil Kudalkar (1937–1998) and Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma (born 1940). He is known by the nickname “Pyromaniac” due to his flaming style of music. Laxmikan ...

sung by

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the ...

from the 1977 movie ''

Chacha Bhatija ''Chacha Bhatija'' () is a 1977 Indian Bollywood comedy drama film, written by Salim–Javed and directed by Manmohan Desai. It was the year's fourth hit for Manmohan Desai (''Amar Akbar Anthony'', '' Dharam Veer'' and '' Parvarish'' are the oth ...

'' was recreated as ''"The Bhoot Song"''. Also, the music of the song was remixed from the song "Ammadu let's do Kummudu" composed by

Devi Sri Prasad Devi Sri Prasad (; born 2 August 1979) is an Indian film composer, lyricist, singer-songwriter and performer. Popularly known by his initials DSP, he is best known for his work in Telugu-language films, and has also worked in a few Tamil films ...

of the movie

Khaidi No. 150 ''Khaidi No. 150'' () is a 2017 Indian Telugu-language action drama film directed by V. V. Vinayak and produced by Ram Charan. The film stars Chiranjeevi and Kajal Aggarwal, marking Chiranjeevi's return to films in a lead role after a decade ...

. ''Bala Bala'' by Tony Montana Music was recreated as ''Shaitan Ka Saala.'' The makers of the film officially got the rights to remake the original song after six months.

Controversies

Director

was originally scheduled to direct the film; in October 2018, in the wake of the ongoing "Me Too" movement in India, Khan was accused by actresses Saloni Chopra, Rachel White and journalist Kma Upadhyay of sexual assault and misconduct. Following the accusations, Khan tweeted that he would step down as director, while lead actor Akshay Kumar tweeted that he was cancelling shooting for the film and that he would not work with the accused until the investigation was complete. Later on,

Nana Patekar Vishwanath Patekar (born 1 January 1951), better known as Nana Patekar, is an Indian actor, screenwriter, film maker, and a former Indian Territorial Army officer, mainly working in Hindi and Marathi cinema. He is regarded as one of the finest a ...

too left the production in the wake of allegations of inappropriate behaviour and touch alleged by victim

Tanushree Dutta Tanushree Dutta (pronounced ) is an Indian actress and model. Dutta won the Femina Miss India Universe title in 2004 at age 20. In the same year at the Miss Universe beauty pageant held in Ecuador, she represented India amongst 133 other count ...

stepped into essay the role which Nana was supposed to be playing.

, who co-directed ''

Housefull 3 ''Housefull 3'' is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film co-written and directed by Sajid-Farhad and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala under the banner Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment. The film is the third installment of the ''Houseful ...

'' replaced Sajid Khan as the director.

References

External links

* *
Housefull 4
on

Bollywood Hungama Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is a Bollywood entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000. The website provides ...

{{Sajid Nadiadwala 2019 films Indian historical comedy films Films set in ancient India 2010s Hindi-language films Films set in London Films about reincarnation Films shot in London Films set in the 15th century 2010s historical comedy films Films shot in Mumbai Indian sequel films 2019 comedy films Fox Star Studios films Films directed by Farhad Samji