‘Housefull 4’ Critics Review: Stuck in Its Own Time Warp

The film released in theatres on 25 October.

Film: Housefull 4

Director: Farhad Samji

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Kriti Sanon, Bobby Deol, Rana Daggubati, Pooja Hegde

Here’s what critics have to say about Housefull 4:

The original director of the film, Sajid Khan, may have been replaced following the #MeToo allegations but the sexist humour continues to thrive under the baton of Farhad Samji. There are double entendres galore and women reduced to commodities for male consumption. Worse are the crass jokes directed at the queer community. Sample: an effeminate guy is referred to as the one “jisne gender ka tender nahin bhara”.

Namrat Joshi, The Hindu

Housefull 4 is clearly stuck in its own time warp, one in which the aging Akshay Kumar can romance women who look obviously younger, Deshmukh can drudge up the stereotype of the effete dance teacher and veteran villain Ranjeet can be cast as the fountain of virility. When a movie has as its comedy centrepiece a scene revolving around a hijra, you know that the writing team is working the bottom of the gutter.

Nandini Ramnath, Scroll

So Akshay, who is here for the fourth time round, plays a bald fellow, whose shining pate is the favourite landing spot for pigeon s–t. Riteish, who has been around for as long, is a `nachaniya’. Chunky Pandey is back again too, babbling about Akhri pasta and `rasta’. Bobby Deol shows up to basically because someone wanted him to remind us of Dharmendra in a skirt.

Shubra Gupta, Indian Express

Sharad Kelkar, Manoj Pahwa and Nawazuddin Siddiqui also pop up and you can be sure the three actresses don’t contribute in any substantial way to the plot of Housefull 4. Of the ensemble, only Akshay Kumar is given sizeable screen-time and, therefore, makes a modicum of impression. The humour is tired, the gags with Pandey and Lever are hackneyed and the cross-dressing jokes are crass in Housefull 4. If you survive the 140-plus minutes of preceding inanity, the most fun is in the outtakes that play with the end credits.  

Udita Jhunjhunwala, Firstpost