Housefull 4

About the film

Housefull 4 is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language fantasy action comedy film directed by Farhad Samji and produced by Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment and Fox Star Studios. The film is the fourth instalment of the Housefull series, and stars an ensemble cast of Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Bobby Deol, Kriti Sanon, Pooja Hegde and Kriti Kharbanda in the lead roles. The plot deals with reincarnation. Three brothers are set to marry three sisters. However, a peek into the distant past reveals to one of the brothers that their brides have been mixed up in their current reincarnation.

The film was half directed by Sajid Khan, who had also directed the first two instalments, but was replaced by Farhad Samji midway during the shooting due to Me Too allegations. Nadiadwala claimed the film to be the highest-budgeted Indian comedy film.

Plot

Housefull 4 is a comedy film centered on reincarnation, spanning 600 years from 1419 to 2019.

In 2019, three brothers—Harry, a barber who temporarily forgets what he's currently doing when he hears a loud sound; Roy; and Max—live in London. Harry experiences visions of a past life and misplaces a bag containing £5 million belonging to gangsters Michael and Big Bhai, in the laundry machine, who demand its return. To settle the debt, the brothers plan to marry the wealthy Thakral sisters: Pooja, Neha, and Kriti. However, they fall in love with the wrong sisters, leading to chaotic wedding preparations in Sitamgarh.

In Sitamgarh, hotel bellboy Aakhri Pasta recognises the group as reincarnations from 1419 Madhavgarh and Sitamgarh. Through Harry’s visions and Pasta’s revelations, they learn of their past lives. In 1419, Prince Bala of Madhavgarh, exiled for plotting against his father, sought to marry Princess Madhu, eldest daughter of Sitamgarh’s King Surya Singh Rana, to gain the throne. Bala’s allies—dance teacher Bangdu and bodyguard Dharamputra—loved Madhu’s sisters, Mala and Meena, respectively. Desperate to be king of Sitamgarh, Suryabhan, the king’s nephew, framed the couples for murdering an enemy clan leader, leading to a battle with the leader’s brother, Gama. During the chaos, Suryabhan sabotaged their wedding mandap, killing the couples.

Production

After the success of Housefull (2010), Housefull 2 (2012), and Housefull 3 (2016), Sajid Nadiadwala announced Housefull 4 on 27 October 2017. The film was the fourth film in Housefull film series.

Sajid Khan was announced as the director. Farhad Samji, who directed Housefull 3 came on board to write the screenplay and dialogues, from the story by Sajid Nadiadwala.

The film was made on a budget of ₹75 crore. In February 2018, it was reported that the film would commence filming in June 2018, in order to give time to post-production and VFX works. DNEG was reported to be do the VFX works of the film, the team shifted from London to Mumbai till the release for the same. The theatrical distribution, overseas, satellite and digital rights of the film were acquired by Fox Star Studios for ₹200 crore.

Music

The film's music is composed by Sohail Sen, Farhad Samji and Sandeep Shirodkar. The music rights were bagged by T-Series.

The soundtrack consists of five songs, namely, "Ek Chumma", "Shaitan Ka Saala", "The Bhoot Song", "Chammo", and "Badla". Lyrics were written by Farhad Samji, Sameer Anjaan and Vayu.

Marketing

In early September 2019, it was reported that promotion of the film would begin in late September, with makers planning a four-week promotion. On 24 September 2019, the logo of Housefull 4 was revealed.

On 25 September, the makers released the posters of lead casts in every hour spread across from the years 1419 to 2019, for the first time in Indian cinema. The official trailer of the film was released on 27 September 2019 and garnered over 38 million views in 24 hours of its release. The trailer launch event was held at PVR Cinemas, Juhu in Mumbai with the film's cast and crew present at the event. The trailer was launched India, United Kingdom, Australia, and Dubai, becoming the film Indian film to do so. On 7 October 2019, the song "Shaitan Ka Saala"'s launch event was held at Hyderabad, with Akshay Kumar, Kriti Sanon and Pooja Hegde launching the song. In mid October 2019, the entire casts travelled in Indian Railways from Mumbai to Delhi, becoming the first film to do so.

Release

The film was theatrically released in India on 25 October 2019 during the Diwali festival. The film was released by Fox Star Studios in India.

Housefull 4's digital streaming rights were acquired by Disney+ Hotstar. The film started streaming on Disney+ Hotstar from 20 December 2019.

Reception

Housefull 4 grossed ₹19.08 crore in India on its opening day. The film had huge opening than its previous films, becoming the highest first day grosser of the series. The film collected ₹37.89 crore in two days of its release. The film grossed ₹53 crore in its opening weekend, becoming one of the highest Diwali release opening weekend grosser. Housefull 4 grossed over ₹100 crore in five days of its release in India.

As of 5 December 2019, with a gross of ₹245 crore in India and ₹51 crore overseas, the film has a worldwide gross collection of ₹296 crore and is the 7th highest-grossing Hindi film of 2019.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 33% of 6 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4/10.

Key details