The starry ensemble of a whopping 18 cast members of Housefull 5 made for an epic frame as they gathered to launch the trailer of the upcoming goofy comedy.
This time, the latest Housefull film comes with a twist of whodunit.
Akshay Kumar, the leading star of the franchise, highlights that at the film's trailer launch, and arrives on stage with his face covered with a metallic mask, similar to the mysterious masked killer in the trailer.
The other cast members wear the mask too, adding intrigue to the drama.
Akshay removes his mask and asks the audience in a dramatic tone: "Who could be the killer among these 18 people, can you guess?"
Of course, not easy to answer that.
Producer Sajid Nadiadwala, who also wrote earlier four films of the Housefullfranchise, revealed that Housefull 5 will have two versions with different climaxes.
And this experiment, he says, will happen for the first time in the world.
"I have been thinking about this for the last 30 years, that if I make a thriller, what would be the X factor? So I have written a story wherein every theatre will have a different killer. If you watch Housefull 5 in Gaiety, you will see one killer, and in Galaxy, you will see another killer. In Screen 4, you will have one killer and in Screen 5, another killer, he explained. Gaiety and Galaxy are well-known movie halls in Bandra, northwest Mumbai.
Fardeen Khan, who plays a pivotal role in Housefull 5, quipped: "This was narrated to us after we shot the entire movie."
Nadiadwala said the track record of earlier Housefull films encouraged him to keep re-visiting this franchise. The producer said he is confident that audiences will love the latest instalment as well.
Interestingly, Housefull 5 releases in the same year as the 75th anniversary of his production house, Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment.
"I have some great journalist friends, who have always been gracious enough. Whenever I deserved half a star, I got one. This is the fifth film, so as per that, Housefull 5 will be a five star film," Nadiadwala said.
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The Housefull 5 trailer introduces the same frolic energy and lowbrow humour one typically associate with the franchise. As a whodunit unfolding on a ship with multiple suspects at play, the film seems to be a cross between Murder on the Orient Express and Knives Out.
Abhishek Bachchan returns to the franchise after Housefull 3 as he joins Akshay Kumar and Riteish Deshmukh, alongside Jacqueline Fernandez, Sonam Bajwa, Nargis Fakhri, Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff, Nana Patekar, Chitrangda Singh, Fardeen Khan, Chunky Panday, Johnny Lever, Shreyas Talpade, Dino Morea, Ranjeet, Soundarya Sharma and Nikitin Dheer.
The film is directed by Tarun Mansukhani of Dostana fame.
"We had a blast shooting this film," Tarun said about his latest directorial. "The ship was the best fun to shoot on. Even though it was rocking, and we had a storm and all of those problems, we kept shooting through it all. I didn't feel the pressure of having this cast even for one day."
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Housefull 5 opens in cinemas on June 6.
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