Housefull: Will love conquer all?

Housefull
cast Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Arjun Rampal, Deepika Padukone, Lara Dutta, Jiah Khan, Boman Irani, Randhir Kapoor
director Sajid Khan
rating TBA

In 2008, director Sajid Khan claimed Housefull would be "the biggest hit of 2009" but with the film's delayed release, he has since altered his claim to "Housefull will be Akshay Kumar's biggest hit". Looking at the fun promotions, it does look like Khan's predictions might come true.

Housefull is the story of Aarush (Kumar), who believes that true love will ward off his bad luck. Aarush ends up marrying three women - Sandy (Padukone), Heetal (Dutta) and Devika (Jiah). This get complicated when the three wives decide to live with Aarush under the same roof. He finds himself in tricky situations and enlists his best pal Bob (Deshmukh) to help him stay out of trouble.

Khan is open about his preference for box-office recognition over critical acclaim. "I'm not bothered about critics, as their opinion wouldn't make a difference to the audience. I believe in making complete commercial films that give value-for-money. After Heyy Babyy, I'm confident that Housefull will entertain the audiences."

Kumar had an unlucky run at the box-office last year with Chandni Chowk To China, 8x10 Tasveer and Blue turning out to be flops and Kambakht Ishq and De Dana Dan doing mediocre business. So he is banking heavily on Housefull.

After Heyy Baby, this is the second time that Khan and Kumar are teaming up for a comedy. "Sajid and I go a long way and we share a similar taste for films. He has an uncanny ability to entertain audience as he proved it with Heyy Babyy's success. Hopefully we will repeat the success run with Housefull," says Kumar.

Khan throws a few gems our way. His unique plot incorporates multi-lingual characters (with Punjabi, Gujarati, Sindhi, Telegu and Urdu dialogues), hoping to reach a wider audience. Also, he introduces a sizzling dance act by Jaqueline Fernandez to the remixed tunes of Apni To Jaise (from the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Lawaaris).

Deshmukh, who plays a pivotal role, is pitted against Dutta, the man he has shared great on-screen camaraderie in Masti and Do Knot Disturb.

Apart from the three gorgeous women, a well-toned Deshmukh and sizzling Kumar, there's a nutty monkey and a talking parrot who create chaos on the screen. And supporting this crazy combo are Irani, Kapoor and Chunky Pandey. Wonder if Housefull's eye candy star cast, hit soundtrack and crowd-pleasing script will ensure that the film runs housefull.