Tarun Mansukhani defends Housefull 5 against claims of sexism, objectifying women: 'The actual plot is driven by women' | Bollywood - Hindustan Times
Jun 12, 2025 09:16 AM IST
Director Tarun Mansukhani has responded to criticism that his film Housefull 5 is sexist in its portrayal of women, defending his project by stating it's "driven by women”. He suggests that people who label the film as sexist are intentionally interpreting it through that perspective. Why Housefull 5's murder mystery has 2 different killers: Both endings of Akshay Kumar, Riteish, Abhishek film explained
In an interview with News18 Showsha, Tarun spoke about the criticism around the storyline of the film. He understands that there is a lot of scrutiny on social media and thinks it is an indication that the film is working well.
Hitting back at the people calling out the film for objectification, Tarun shared, “It means that they’re watching it with a certain eye and sensibility. You can scrutinise it. That’s fine. You’ve paid money to watch it and so, you get to have an opinion on my film. It’s not a placid film about which you don’t care or have an opinion. For those who’re calling it out, I want to say that it’s your choice of seeing and focusing on that aspect of the film”.
He doesn’t agree with the sexist tag being given to the project, and mentioned, “It’s Sonam (Bajwa) who backstabs Riteish (Deshmukh) and helps further the plot, that in turn helps bring a third Jolly. The actual plot is driven by women – to get the money. There’s a Soundarya who’s equal parts a suspect in this entire thing”.
When it comes to men, Tarun calls them ‘flawed characters’. The director feels one “may choose to see a sexist side to it, but I feel that I’ve done a lot more”.
The comedy revolves around a murder on a cruise ship. A man is murdered shortly after a billionaire announces he will leave his wealth to his successor Jolly. The twist is that there are three Jollys on the cruise – Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, and Abhishek Bachchan. Along with them, their girlfriends are all suspects in the murder.
The film was released with two different climax sequences and has received a mixed response from critics. The fifth instalment of the Housefull franchise had a strong start at the box office. According to Sacnilk, the film collected ₹55 crore net in India and ₹87 crore worldwide in two days. On day 6, the film registered business of ₹8 crore, taking the total to ₹119.75 crore.
It also stars Fardeen Khan, Nana Patekar, Jackie Shroff, Ranjeet, Johny Lever, Jacqueline Fernandez, Nargis Fakhri, Chunky Panday, Dino Morea, Sonam Bajwa, and Soundarya Sharma.
