''Paying Guests'' is a 2009 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

comedy drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple co ...

film starring

Ashish Chaudhary ''Ashish Chaudhary'' (born 21 July 1978) is an Indian television actor who has acted in many Hindi films and TV shows. He is best known for portraying Boman in the comedy films ''Dhamaal'' and ''Double Dhamaal'', winning '' Fear Factor: Khatron ...

Shreyas Talpade Shreyas Talpade (born 27 January 1976) is an Indian actor, film director and producer who appears in Hindi and Marathi films. He has appeared in several critically and commercially successful films. He is better known for his role as Shah Rukh ...

Javed Jaffrey Syed Jaaved Ahmed Jaaferi (born 4 December 1963) is an Indian actor, dancer, and comedian who has appeared in Hindi films and television shows. He is son of the comedian Jagdeep. He joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in March, 2014 and contested ...

, Vatsal Seth,

Celina Jaitly Celina Jaitly (born 24 November 1981) is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Bollywood films. She won the Miss India in 2001 and was the 4th runner-up at Miss Universe 2001. She made her acting debut with the 2003 thriller ''Janasheen''. E ...

Neha Dhupia Neha Dhupia (born 27 August 1980) is an Indian actress and model who works predominantly in Hindi, and some Punjabi, Telugu and Malayalam films. She has won the Femina Miss India 2002 pageant and was among the top 10 finalists in Miss Universe ...

Riya Sen Riya Sen (born Riya Dev Varma; 24 January 1981) is an Indian actress and model. who predominantly appears in Hindi, Bengali, English, Telugu and Tamil films. Sen comes from a royal background; her father Bharat Dev Varma hails from the royal ...

Sayali Bhagat Sayali Bhagat is an Indian actress and former beauty queen. She competed in Femina Miss India 2004 and won the title of Femina Miss India World. Early life She studied at Fravashi Academy, Nasik, and completed her graduation in BMS (Bachelor ...

and

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 ...

. It is directed by

Paritosh Painter Paritosh Painter (born 8 January 1972) is an Indian theatre actor, director, and film, TV writer. He is the writer of several Bollywood movies, some of which are Total Dhamaal (2019), Dhamaal (2007), Paying Guests (2009), and All The Best: Fun ...

under

Subhash Ghai Subhash may refer to: People * Subhash Agarwal, Indian professional player and coach of English billiards and snooker * Subhash Awchat (born 1960), Indian artist and author based in Mumbai * Subhash Bapurao Wankhede (born 1963), Indian politician ...

Mukta Arts Mukta Arts Limited is an Indian film production company, headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1978, the company is involved in the production, distribution, exhibition and education in cinema and creative arts and production of digital softw ...

banner. It is a comedy film revolving around four close friends who reside together in Pattaya. It borrows the basic plot from the 1966 comedy movie ''

Biwi Aur Makan Biwi (meaning wife in Urdu) may refer to: Films & TV Series * Biwi-O-Biwi, a 1981 romantic-comedy Hindi movie. * Biwi No.1, a 1999 Indian Hindi-language comedy film. *Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster, a 2011 Indian romantic thriller film * Saheb, Biwi ...

'' directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee (which was based on the Bengali movie ''Joy Maa Kali Boarding'') and which was an inspiration for the Marathi movie ''

Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi ''Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi'' () is a 1988 Indian Marathi-language comedy-drama film directed by Sachin Pilgaonkar and produced by Kiran Shantaram. The film stars Ashok Saraf, Laxmikant Berde, Sachin Pilgaonkar and Siddharth Ray opposite Ashwini Bhave ...

''(1989), Telugu movie '' Chitram Bhalare Vichitram'' (1991), two Kannada movies - ''

Bombat Hendthi ''Bombat Hendthi'' is a 1992 Indian Kannada-language comedy drama film directed by P. N. Ramachandra Rao and produced by R. Sriramulu. A remake of Rao's Telugu film, '' Chitram Bhalare Vichitram'' (1991), the film featured an ensemble cast incl ...

'' (1992) and ''Olu Saar Bari Olu'' (2003), Tamil movie '' Aanazhagan'' (1995), Punjabi ''

Mr & Mrs 420 ''Mr & Mrs 420'' is a Punjabi comedy film directed by Ksshitij Chaudhary and starring Yuvraj Hans, Jassi Gill, Babbal Rai, Binnu Dhillon and Jaswinder Bhalla in lead roles. It was released worldwide on 14 March 2014. A sequel titled ''Mr & Mrs ...

'' (2014) and Bengali movie ''

Jio Pagla ''Jio Pagla'' (Bengali: জিও পাগলা ''Jiō Pāglā'') is a 2017 Indian Bengali comedy film directed by Ravi Kinagi. The film was based on the Bengali movie ''Joy Maa Kali Boarding'' (which was based on the play of same name) and wh ...

'' (2017). Shooting started in the second week of April 2008. Riya Sen was originally offered Neha Dhupia's role, Aarti Gupta, but declined and instead chose the role as Jayesh's

melodramatic A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...

girlfriend, Alpita. A sequel, ''Paying Guests 2'', is in production and will take place against the backdrop of a beauty pageant.

Plot

Three friends - Bhavesh (

), Parag (

) and Pariksheet (

) live in

Pattaya Pattaya ( th, พัทยา, , ) is a city in Thailand. It is on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about southeast of Bangkok, within, but not part of, Bang Lamung district in the province of Chonburi province, Chonburi. Pattaya City ( ...

, as paying guests in a house owned by Kiska Miglani (

Asrani Govardhan Asrani (born 1 January 1940), popularly known simply as Asrani, is an Indian actor and director whose Bollywood career has spanned five decades. He has acted in over 350 Hindi films. Asrani has played the lead roles, character roles, ...

). Bhavesh works as a

chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

in a restaurant called Namaste India, owned by Ballu Singh (

). Ballu has a younger brother, Ronnie (

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 ...

), who wants ownership the restaurant, because he owes a considerable amount of money to a gangster, Murli (Inder Kumar). Parag is a

screen writer A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. T ...

for a television channel and Parikshit is a

car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...

salesman Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. The seller, or the provider of the goods or services, completes a sale in r ...

working for Aarti Gupta (

). Eventually all three of them lose their jobs. The three friends are later joined by Jayesh ( Vatsal Seth) from

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, who is a cousin of Parikshit's, and tells them that an

apartment An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ma ...

is included if he gets a job at an

architecture firm In the United States, an architectural firm or architecture firm is a business that employs one or more licensed architects and practices the profession of architecture; while in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark and other countri ...

. After getting drunk celebrating Jayesh's arrival, they privately insult Kiska, who arrives back home unexpectedly, hears what they are saying and kicks them out. They go out in search of a place to stay and a friend of Parikshit's suggests paid lodgings. Parikshit and Jayesh go to the home to find its owner is Ballu Singh, to whom they are oblivious of the fact that he is Bhavesh's former employer. Ballu and his wife, Sweety (

Delnaaz Paul Delnaaz Irani is an Indian actress. She is known for her role of Kavita Vinod Verma in '' Yes Boss'' and Jaspreet "Sweetu" Kapoor in ''Kal Ho Naa Ho''. Irani also participated in '' Nach Baliye 1'' and '' Bigg Boss 6''. Career Delnaaz debuted ...

), agree to let them stay on one condition - they must be married. Parag poses as Jayesh's wife, Kareena, and Bhavesh as Karishma, Parikshit's wife. Jayesh gets the job and will get the allotment to the flat in fifteen days' time. Ballu Singh and Sweety leave to pick up Sweety's sister, Kalpana (

). When they arrive home, Jayesh's girlfriend, Alpita (

), arrives with them and sees the four friends having (what she believes is) sex. She is instantly outraged at Jayesh and leaves him. Meanwhile, Parag seeks permission to marry Seema from her father (Paintel) and Bhavesh, while wooing Kalpana, finds himself in a situation where Ronnie tries to

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

Karishma and in the process of saving Bhavesh, Jayesh nearly drowns him by accident. While discussing the event with Parag and Parikshit, he discovers the apple he has been eating has ''half'' a worm in it, Sweety hears Bhavesh

vomit Vomiting (also known as emesis and throwing up) is the involuntary, forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenteriti ...

and mistakes him for someone being

pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops (gestation, gestates) inside a woman, woman's uterus (womb). A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occur ...

. In the meantime, Paintel has agreed that Parag can marry Seema, Aarti has fallen for Parikshit, Kalpana has chosen Bhavesh as her life partner and Jayesh has reconciled with Alpita. The four friends decide that it is time for them to tell Ballu and Sweety the truth. In a shopping centre, an accomplice of Ronnie's sees them and tells Ronnie. When they come home, they find Ronnie, Ballu Singh and Sweety there, but they do not know that anyone except the villain is there. Ronnie has persuaded Ballu to sign the papers transferring ownership of the restaurant, Bhavesh snatches the papers away and they all end up in a theater showing of Mughal-e-Azam, where they all don various costumes and each make their own humorous attempts to retrieve the documents. Ballu gets back the restaurant and forgives them on one condition - they give them the dream of a small child in the house, which they gladly set out to do.

Cast

as Parikshit Pandey *

as Bhavesh Verma / Karishma *

as Parag Melwani / Kareena * Vatsal Seth as Jayesh Thakur *

as Kalpana Singh *

as Aarti Gupta *

as Arpita *

as Seema *

as Ballu Singh *

as Sweety Singh *

as Ronnie *

as Kiska Miglani *

Inder Kumar Inder Kumar (26 August 1973 – 28 July 2017) was an Indian actor best known for playing supporting roles in Hindi films such as ''Wanted'', '' Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge'', '' Kahin Pyaar Na Ho Jaaye'' and '' Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi''. He was a c ...

as Murli * Paintal as Seema's Father

Box office

''Paying Guests'' had a weak start but sales picked up in subsequent weeks and the film was declared a semi-hit.

Music

Music is composed by Sajid–Wajid with lyrics provided by Jalees Sherwani, Wajid, A K Upadhyay.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 1176961, Paying Guests
''Paying Guests'' at IndiaFM

''Review'' at AOL India

Paying Guest
2009 films 2000s Hindi-language films Indian comedy films Hindi remakes of Marathi films Indian slapstick comedy films Films shot in Thailand Cross-dressing in Indian films 2009 comedy films Hindi-language comedy films Films set in Pattaya