LOL in London

Abhishek Bachchan, Akshay Kumar

The house is certainly getting fuller with actors being constantly roped in for Housefull 5. Last week, Abhishek Bachchan became the latest addition to the ensemble comedy, starring Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, and Chunky Panday. With most of the primary cast finalised, we've heard that director Tarun Mansukhani will take the comic caper into pre-production this month. He is set to kick off the UK recce in 10 days.

While the film will primarily be shot in London, Mansukhani apparently wants to bring other untapped locations to the big screen. "The reason why the makers have charted out a long recce is because Akshay has shot two projects, Bell Bottom [2021] and Khel Khel Mein, in the UK recently. Visually, they want to avoid any similar locations," says a source.

After spending May-end and June in pre-production, the director will call action on the latest instalment of the popular franchise in late August. The source adds, "He has designated 60 to 65 days for the shoot. The cast will prep thoroughly before flying out to London. Since it is a large cast, the prep will help in efficiency, and reduce wastage of time. Tarun wants to wrap up the principal photography by October before Diwali. Only patch shoots will remain after that." Housefull 5 is slated for a June 2025 release.