Housefull 5 Continues Bollywood’s Problematic Trend of Objectifying Women

The franchise’s reputation for sexist humour isn’t new. Housefull 4 faced backlash for rape jokes and crude innuendo, which led to director Sajid Khan’s removal during the #MeToo wave. Yet nothing seems to have changed. Housefull 5 doubles down on the same tired formula, revealing just how resistant mainstream Bollywood is to real change.

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The Male Gaze is Front and Centre

From its very first scenes, the camera lingers on the women, focusing on their bodies, not their characters. This isn't accidental. It's an example of the male gaze, visual storytelling that centres the male viewer’s desire while reducing women to ornaments.

Even the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) flagged this. The film had to cut 11 seconds of “sensual visuals and double-meaning dialogue” to get a U/A certificate. Yet those few edits barely scratch the surface of the problem, it’s in the DNA of the film’s visuals.

Where Are the Women?

The female cast, including Soundarya Sharma, Jacqueline Fernandez, Nargis Fakhri, Chitrangada Singh, and Sonam Bajwa, exists only to support the men, Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, and Riteish Deshmukh. Sharma, in her debut, plays a flat role with no arc, no depth, and no voice.

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The others fare no better. None of the women are given meaningful backstories or agency. Their purpose is limited to being admired, pursued, or ridiculed, all for cheap laughs. It's a clear reminder that Bollywood still doesn’t know what to do with its women beyond showcasing them.

Sexism Disguised as Humour

The film leans heavily on double entendres and juvenile jokes about body parts and sexual positions. What’s worse is that many of these ‘jokes’ inv: olve blatant objectification or uncomfortable innuendo, often aimed at women and queer characters.

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Bollywood’s Systemic Problem

This isn’t just a Housefull problem, it’s a Bollywood problem. A BBC report found that women make up less than 25% of lead roles in Indian cinema. When they do appear, they’re often highly sexualised, underwritten, or sidelined entirely.

Yes, exceptions exist. Films like Queen, Pink, Lipstick Under My Burkha, or shows like Delhi Crime have featured strong, complex women. But these are outliers in a sea of films that still use female bodies for comic relief or visual appeal.

When films repeatedly show women as jokes, prizes, or silent spectators, it affects how audiences, especially young ones, view gender roles. Studies show that regular exposure to such content increases self-objectification in women and reinforces sexist attitudes in men.

In simple terms, if you keep feeding people stories where women only exist to be ogled or laughed at, society absorbs those messages. It becomes normal.

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What Better Representation Looks Like

Strong representation doesn’t mean just putting a woman in a lead role. It means giving her a story, a voice, a purpose beyond being someone’s love interest. It also means avoiding sexualisation as shorthand for empowerment.

Housefull 5 isn’t just a bad comedy, it’s a symbol of how far Bollywood still has to go. Its success shows that sexism still sells, even when audiences are asking for more. But the backlash also signals change. Viewers are no longer silent. They’re asking hard questions and demanding better.

It’s time Bollywood stopped hiding behind the excuse of ‘harmless fun’ and started taking responsibility for the stories it tells.

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