1. No Fresh Faces: Where Are The Young Leading Men?
Earlier films in this film franchise were successful in juxtaposing the established actors with younger crowd-pullers like John Abraham, Varun Dhawan, or even Sidharth Malhotra.
However, the current film is blatantly stacked with older actors: Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Abhishek Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, and Fardeen Khan — all of them established, but none of them bring a youthful identity that would have brought fresh dynamics to the established elements of the film franchise.
Rather than bring the film franchise forward in generations, Housefull 5 seems stuck in the past with no marquee names to entice Gen Z.
2. Female Cast Has a Star Power Deficit
Earlier films in the franchise also boasted leading ladies like Deepika Padukone, Asin, and Kriti Sanon — popular actresses from a mass standpoint. The current film excuses another leading lady, but not only do they not have star wattage, they also do not currently have a mass following like Padukone or Kriti Sanon.
The leading lady roster of Jacqueline Fernandez (fresh off the badly received Fateh), Nargis Fakhri, Sonam Bajwa, Soundarya Sharma, and Chitrangda Singh are interesting women who bring some unique attributes.
3. Changing Direction? From Sajid Khan to Tarun Mansukhani
No matter what you think of him, Sajid Khan absolutely knew the DNA of the Housefull franchise: it meant loud, raunchy, slapstick nonsensical chaos with a bombastic big-screen vibe. Sajid Khan, as director of the first two films, directed with very clear comedic symbols.
Housefull 5 is directed by Tarun Mansukhani, who is known for Dostana (2008) and Drive (2019). Drive went straight to OTT after dropping on the buzz meter, and it completely tanked.
Given the tonal and vision shift with the new director, there is a fair possibility that the next film could fall flat and not pick up the brand’s unfettered energy.
4. Is It a Comic Murder Mystery? It Is Certainly Not the Housefull We All Know…
The Housefull franchise films have been madcap, nonsensical fun-first comedies. This new film, Housefull 5, is being pitched as a comic murder mystery and set on a cruise ship. Quite frankly, the 5th instalment and its brand of nothing-makes-sense tone feel disallowed and a genre shift.
Even worse, there are rumours that this murder mystery concept borrows heavily from the Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston Murder Mystery movies from our Hollywood rivals. If this is how they treat the Housefull brand, they are going to put off the core fanbase in favour of gaining some nostalgia from their take on what Housefull used to mean, though chaotically.
5. Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment’s Shaky Track Record
Let’s be honest: the production company of Housefull 5, Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, has not had the best luck recently. Their previous films, such as Heropanti 2, were straight flops; Sikandar was shelved, and Chandu Champion received a flimsy response.
With such inconsistency recently, there is a doubt if the studio can actually make a commercially successful crowd pleaser again in Housefull 5.
The real question is…
Will the audience show up just based on the brand name? Perhaps.
Is it the same formula that once defined Bollywood?
Check out the teaser:
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