Housefull 5: After fortnight of cruise filming, Akshay Kumar-starrer moves to Sidmouth for next phase

Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Abhishek Bachchan. Chitrangda Singh, Jacqueline Fernandez and Nargis Fakhri. Pics/Instagram

Shooting aboard a luxury liner sounds like one big party, and that's exactly what it has been for the Housefull 5 team. Director Tarun Mansukhani kicked off the shoot of the multi-starrer - that features Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Abhishek Bachchan, Fardeen Khan, Jacqueline Fernandez, Nargis Fakhri and Chitrangda Singh, among others - on September 16 on a cruise liner in Newcastle, England. After a fortnight of filming on the sea, it is now learnt that the team has made a pit-stop in the town of Sidmouth. For the next two weeks, a chunk of the comedy will be canned at Sidmouth, Exeter, London and other cities in the UK.

Chunky Panday poses against the cruise liner

The latest instalment in the Housefull franchise is being envisioned as the biggest so far, with Mansukhani even roping in actors from the previous editions for key roles (Everyone's invited to this house party, June 19). A source reveals, "This time around, most of the narrative unfolds on a cruise. The ship set sail from Newcastle, going to Spain, then Normandy and Honfleur in France, before turning back to Plymouth in England. From October 2, the unit began shooting in the picturesque town of Sidmouth, which is a couple of hours away from London. The plan is to wrap up the UK leg by October 16." Last week, Kumar also organised a surprise party on the ship to celebrate co-actor Chunky Panday's birthday.

As soon as the cast returns to India mid-October, they will begin the Mumbai leg. Sanjay Dutt, Nana Patekar and Jackie Shroff will join the unit in this schedule. From what we've heard, the three actors play grey characters. "Producer Sajid Nadiadwala and Tarun were keen to cast Sanjay in Housefull 5, given his knack for comedy. When the actor's application for the UK visa got rejected, hindering his Son of Sardaar 2 shoot, Sajid chose a wiser route by ensuring that all of the actor's Housefull 5 portions would be set in Mumbai. Huge sets representing the interiors of the luxury ship will be erected in a Mumbai studio, where the climax will be shot with the entire cast." If things go as planned, the principal photography will be wrapped up by November.