Housefull 4 Review

Back in 1419, when bald Canadian princes were grooving with Russian cheerleaders to electronically synthesised desi cra... trap music, when desi princesses with glossy make-up and threaded eyebrows were rocking cleavage-toting blouses, when Maharashtra's ex-CM's son was parodying Kamal Hassan, when Dharmendra's younger son was parodying himself, and all fort architecture was parodying Mahishmati, back in those heady medieval times, a mother and her two children walked out of the cinema hall muttering "What nonsense...!"

Later, we learn that all this business about modern times being progressive is a sham. Because six hundred years passed since 1419, and in 2019, things just stayed the same, if not got worse.

For example, one of the numerous reincarnations in Housefull 4 is of a young female courtier Giggly (Jamie Lever, Johnny Lever's daughter) who is now reborn as Winston Churchgate (Johnny Lever himself). Daughter Lever was in love with Aakhri Pasta (Chunkey Pandey) in 1419 and, so, now Johnny Lever dons large red bindis, loud sarees, blouses, and strategic chest padding running after Pandey wanting his babies. Ugh... what a drag.

The big plot point is that the pairings make a shift in the reincarnations. In 1419, middle-aged man 1 (Kumar), middle-aged man 2 (Deshmukh) and middle-aged man 3 (Deol) are respectively paired with young girl 1 (Sanon), young girl 2 (Hegde) and young girl 3 (Kharbanda) respectively. But now in 2019, middle-aged man 1 gets the second young girl, middle-aged man 2 gets the third young girl, and middle-aged man 3 gets the first young girl. Amidst all these men getting these girls, the girls have to make do with getting uncomfortable.

The smaller but more valuable plot point is that a tribal warlord Gama (Rana Daggubati, hamming it up as Bhallaladeva roleplaying a Kalakeya) thirsts to kill all the middle-aged men and the young girls. He achieves this once (to our applause) in 1419, but fails in 2019 (to our dismay).

All of this takes place amidst much fanfare - blindingly bright and colourful visuals, numbingly repetitive but trippy beats, and the favourite smell of many Indians - burning money. The high point is the funny lines. Some young men guffawed away when Bobby Deol's name was announced as Dharamputr. Because, you know, he is Dharam's Putr. Sigh...

We admired the fearless matron (mentioned in the first paragraph) wishing she adopted the other gullible children in the hall and dragged us out of the evils of Housefull 4. Because this bunch of willing men in the audience were clapping and hooting when an elderly king sampled a dollop of pig faeces imagining it to be an aphrodisiac. Each single one of us in the hall needed a mother desperately.