Pointing out that a sequel takes off where the last film ended, he says that in the case of Housefull, subsequent films will only be centered around a big house and confusion galore. “They will be different stories with new characters and actors. Only the two Sajids — producer Sajid Nadidawala and me —will remain constant. And no Housefull will be made without Akshay Kumar,” he says.
Sajid reasons that given the trio’s success at the box-office, it would be foolish to break the team and equally foolish not to carry the franchise forward. “I’ll start on Housefull 3 as soon as I am through with Vashu’s (producer Vashu Bhagnani) film and Judwaa 2,” he insists.
Housefull 2 had earlier been scheduled for June 1, but in a surprising twist, the release was brought forward by two months to April 5. Justifying the move Sajid says, “When Sajid and I sat with the marketing team to brainstorm on the promotions, we realised that Housefull is big-ticket commercial cinema with a summer feel, so we should target the holiday season.”
April is also IPL season, but Sajid is not scared of the competition from cricket. IPL, he argues, is into its fourth season and during vacations, people like to get out of their homes and into the theatres. “I’m promising a family entertainer with no double meaning dialogues, cheap jokes and sex. A film they can take their kids to,” he says.
Wikipedia lists Team India’s cricket captain, MS Dhoni, as a part of the film’s cast. “He’s not,” insists Sajid, adding with a laugh. “Dikhawe pe mat jao, apna akal lagao (Don’t believe everything you see, use your brains). “The site also puts my age as 65. I have 22 actors in my film and no cricketers.”
Twenty-two actors? “Yes,” admits the director, adding, “There won’t be space in the posters for all of them. But every character, big or small, is justified. I’ve taken the route of Manmohan Desai. Remember Amar Akbar Anthony (1979) and Naseeb (1981)?”
Housefull brought Randhir Kapoor back from self-imposed hibernation while Housefull 2 gave Sajid the opportunity to work with his childhood idols, Mithun Chakraborty and Rishi Kapoor. “Mithunda is such a versatile actor and Chintuiji is the most under-rated actor in the country. After Agneepath, in which he plays the first all-black negative role of his career, you will so him doing a full-on comedy in my film,” says an elated Sajid.
His other idols include Jeetendra, Rajinikanth and Big B. Sajid admits to wearing a T-shirt in college with ‘I love Jeetendra’ scrawled across it and says he’d love to have his ‘heroes’ in future Housefulls. “But the problem is that their body of work is so large that it’s difficult to write a role that Jeetuji, Rajni sir or Mr Bachchan haven’t attempted before,” he sighs, saying that this was the hurdle that kept him and Mithun apart all these years. “Whenever we would meet, Dada would complain that despite saying I loved him so much, I didn’t want him in my films. And I would say I was waiting to give him a role which he, me and the audience would enjoy. I’ve done it!”
