Suchin Mehrotra reviews "Housefull 5", a comedy-thriller from director Tarun Mansukhani. In this review for The Hollywood Reporter India, Suchin examines the fifth installment of the Housefull franchise, which combines madcap comedy with a murder mystery set aboard a cruise ship.
Suchin discusses how the film, written by Tarun Mansukhani, Sajid Nadiadwala, and Farhad Samji, follows three impostors claiming to be billionaire Ranjit Dobriyal's heir "Jolly" - played by Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, and Riteish Deshmukh - along with their supposed wives played by Nargis Fakhri, Jacqueline Fernandez, and Sonam Bajwa. He analyzes the performances and notes the film's ambitious 3-hour runtime and unique dual-version release strategy.
The review highlights both the film's conceptual potential and its execution challenges, comparing it to successful comedies like Hera Pheri and Welcome, as well as 2024's Madgaon Express. Suchin notes strong moments from Akshay Kumar and Riteish Deshmukh, while pointing out Abhishek Bachchan's struggle to fit into the comedic world. He also mentions memorable supporting performances from Sanjay Dutt and Jackie Shroff as British police officers.
The film features an innovative gimmick with two versions (5A and 5B) having different killers, though Suchin finds the mystery element lacking after the lengthy runtime.
