Nargis Fakhri

Review: Housefull 5 – A routine but partly engaging comedy entertainer

by 123telugu June 6, 2025

Movie Name : Housefull 5

Release Date : June 06, 2025
123telugu.com Rating : 2.75/5
Starring : Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh, Jacqueline Fernandez, Sonam Bajwa, Nargis Fakhri, Jackie Shroff, Nana Patekar, Chitrangada Singh, Fardeen Khan, Chunky Pandey, Johnny Lever, Shreyas Talpade, Dino Morea, Ranjeet, Soundarya Sharma, Nikitin Dheer, and Akashdeep Sabir
Director : Tarun Mansukhani
Producers : Sajid Nadiadwala, Warda Nadiadwala, Firuzi Khan
Music Director : Julius Packiam, Yo Yo Honey Singh, Tanishk Bagchi, and others
Cinematographer : V. Manikandan
Editor : Rameshwar S. Bhagat

Related Links : Trailer

The highly anticipated fifth installment of the superhit Bollywood comedy franchise, Housefull, was released worldwide earlier today. Given the franchise’s success rate and the fanbase it enjoys, the film opened on a huge note. Check out our review to know if the film has managed to meet the sky-high expectations.

Story:

Housefull’s story entirely takes place on a luxury cruise ship. Billionaire Ranjit (Ranjit) writes in his will that his entire property should go to Jolly, the son of his second wife, following his death. Dev (Fardeen Khan), Ranjit’s first wife’s son, along with several board members, plans to grab that property. Meanwhile, Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, and Ritesh Deshmukh board the cruise ship, claiming to be Jolly. Who is the real Jolly? Who is committing the murders on the cruise ship? This forms the main crux of the story.

Plus Points:

The star cast of Housefull 5 hints about the craze for the franchise. Watching so many stars on a cruise ship is a rare opportunity for the audience. While Housefull 5’s story follows a routine template, it succeeds in leaving the audiences in splits thanks to the non-stop comedy.

The confusion comedy that drives the narrative has worked out quite well. While the first half runs at a slow pace, the narrative gets on track eventually, getting the audience involved in the movie. That said, the introduction of several lead characters, the comedy scenes, the interval sequence, and the following twist in the story are the major highlights of this installment.

The suspense and comedy hold the entire movie together, leaving the audience engaged. The big surprise reveal in the climax is enthralling. Even though the film features an ensemble cast, the way their characterizations are designed is quite impressive.

Minus Points:

The fate of Housefull 5 would have been different if the screenplay had a perfect finish that’s essential for such a routine comedy entertainer. This aspect is grossly missing in Housefull 5. Adding to this, the lethargic narration in the first half and the lag scenes in the second half only test the audience’s patience. However, the comedy scenes that were churned out one after the other salvage the situation to an extent.

While watching all our favorite Bollywood stars together in a single frame is exciting, proper care should have been taken in handling their roles. One gets a feeling many actors have been wasted in poorly etched roles. The senior actors, in particular, have been given lackluster characterizations. Coming to the music, the songs are just okay, and their placement is bad. The comedy seems to have been forcibly inserted in a few scenes.

Technical Department:

Director Tarun Mansukhani has impassively handled a long list of popular Bollywood stars. However, he should have focused more on the overall output for better audience engagement. Writer-producer Sajid Nadiadwala’s screenplay should have been better. The editing could have been crisper in several scenes. While some songs are captivating on the screen, it’s the background score that earns more points. The cinematography is decent, and the production values are grand.

Verdict:

Housefull 5 is a routine comedy entertainer. The huge star cast, captivating twists, and surprising cameos are the only highlights of this installment. On the other hand, the routine story and the lackluster narrative act as major drawbacks of this movie. If you are a fan of the Housefull franchise, you’ll have to keep your expectations in check while watching this outing.

123telugu.com Rating: 2.75/5

Reviewed by 123telugu Team

Click Here For Telugu Review

June 6, 2025

Pawan Kalyan’s Hari Hara Veera Mallu postponed again? – Fans upset with makers

by 123telugu April 16, 2025

It’s been nearly five years since Hari Hara Veera Mallu began its journey-a period action drama that brought together Pawan Kalyan and director Krish Jagarlamudi, only to later change hands to Jyoti Krishna. What started as a high-profile, big-budget project has slowly become a cautionary tale of delays, silence, and slipping expectations.

The film is currently aiming for a May 9, 2025 release, just a few weeks away. But there’s a catch. Key portions still need to be shot with Pawan Kalyan, and a large chunk of post-production is pending. To make matters worse, PSPK is reportedly dealing with back pain, making a return to the sets unlikely anytime soon.

Naturally, this has sparked fresh rumours of another delay, with insiders now whispering a new release date: May 30, 2025. While there’s no official confirmation, the situation makes it all too believable. Fans, understandably, are furious-not just at the delays, but at the complete lack of promotions for a film of this scale.

To add to the frustration, this is just Part 1. There’s a sequel planned, but at this pace, cinephiles are already joking about how many more years that might take.

The film features Nidhhi Agerwal as the female lead, alongside Bobby Deol, Nora Fatehi, Nargis Fakhri, and Sathyaraj. It’s being produced by A. Dayakar Rao and presented by A. M. Rathnam. MM Keeravaani, fresh off his Oscar win, is composing the music-but the two songs released so far failed to make much noise.

With the clock ticking and fans growing restless, all eyes are now on the makers. Will they stick to the date-or is Hari Hara Veera Mallu headed for yet another delay?

April 16, 2025

Review : Torbaaz – Hindi film on Netflix

by 123telugu December 13, 2020

Cast : Sanjay Dutt, Nargis Fakhri, Rahul Dev, Gavie Chahal, Rahul Mittra

Directed by : Girish Malik

Producer : Raju Chadha, Rahul Mittra, Puneet Singh, Girish Malik

Cinematography : Hiroo Keswani

Continuing the trend of reviewing shows and films on OTT, today, a Hindi film called Torbaaz has hit the small screens. The film is available on Netflix and let’s see how it is.

Story

Nasser Khan(Sanjay Dutt) is a doctor in the Indian army. He works for the Indian embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. In a tragic attack, both his wife and son get killed and Nasser comes back to India. Years later, his old friend from Kabul, Ayesha(Nargis Fakhri) calls him for the inauguration of a refugee camp called Tomorrow’s Hope. After reaching there, Nasser realizes that the kids in the camp are quite talented in the game of cricket. Then, Nasser decides to become their cricket coach and help the kids achieve their dreams. But doing that in a country like Afghanistan filled with terrorists is a deadly task. How did Nasser do it is the whole story.

Plus Points

The story of the film is quite interesting and looks inspiring as well. The plight of the children in a terror-ridden country like Afghanistan has been showcased well in the film. The story throws light on these aspects and helps in adding to the viewer’s knowledge. The main asset is the visuals. Hiroo Keswani’s cinematography is beautiful. The locales of Kyrgyzstan are very well captured.

Sanjay Dutt was decent in the film but his character does not have much of an impact. His screen presence is good but the good old Sanjay Dutt is not seen anymore due to his laid-back attitude. Priyanka Verma is decent in the cameo. Preet Bhanushali doesn’t have much to do. Rahul Mittra suits the part but his performance is weak.

Minus Points

The songs in the film are a huge drawback and things do work because of this. They distract the viewing experience o the audience. Also, the film has a documentary kind of a feel and is slow in many areas. The film starts on a dull note and the emotions in the main characters are not that effective.

Girish Malik’s direction is the biggest culprit. This could have been a great flick if the direction was better or it was handled by someone else but sadly, Girish Malik’s execution spoils the show. A few scenes are random and are added for the heck of it.

The cricket match scene doesn’t impress and things could have been narrated on a better note. Also, too much time is wasted at the beginning of the film to establish the main story.

Technical Aspects

Vikram Montrose’s music doesn’t work. Bickram Ghosh’s background score, however, has the element. Jawed Karim’s action is sans and blood and gore which looks weird for a film set in Kabul. VFX is average in a few scenes. Editing by Protim Khaound is haphazard at places and many scenes could have cut out. Director Girish Malika brings out a good subject but his narration is jaded and makes the film dull and boring.

Verdict

On the whole, Torbaaz is an emotional drama that has a very interesting setup. The realistic scenes depicting the life of kids in Afghanistan look good but the rest of the narration, cricket matches, and emotions do not click making this film a dull and boring watch.

123telugu.com Rating : 2/5
Reviewed by 123telugu Team

Click Here For Telugu Review

December 13, 2020