In Sajid Khan's 2010 comedy film Housefull, our hero Aarush (Akshay Kumar), believes his bad luck will end when he marries his true love.
Fortunately, his friends introduce him to Devika Samtani (Jiah Khan) who seems like the perfect match for him. They get married and celebrate their "suhag raat" - or wedding night - in Italy.
The only problem is that Aarush is inexperienced with women. So, while he is waiting for his new bride to prepare herself, he realizes "I Don't Know What To Do".
What follows is a delightful item item number reflecting - and addressing - his concerns. The song was choreographed by Sajid Khan's sister, Farah Khan. In an 2010 Bollywood Hungama interview, Jiah Khan talked about working with Akshay Kumar:
"...I was so excited the moment I heard the song. It was so hilarious and you have to closely listen to the lyrics to really know what's happening in the background. I just freaked out in it and there was so much more fun in store when we started shooting for the song. ...the best part about Akshay is that he improvises a lot even as the camera is rolling. In fact as we moved ahead in the song's shoot, he only made it look funnier and funnier. It could have become a totally sexy song but we have avoided it to become one."
Generally, it is assumed the man will lead the events of the wedding night for his shy bride; however, in this item number the roles are reversed. Aarush is approached by Devika who instructs him on the proper protocol for their special evening - even down to decorating the bed with flowers (which is believed to bring sweetness to the newlywed relationship).
In the traditional sahug raat, the bride waits for her husband beneath a veil. It is customary that the husband slowly takes the veil off, to reveal the bride's face. However, in the Housefull item number, the veil is lifted to reveal the shy groom.
"I Don't Know What To Do" - composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy with lyrics by Sameer - is fun, up-beat and humorous. A great deal of its appeal comes from the choice of playback singers. Glamsham.com's music review highlights that choice:
"It appears that director Sajid is very much enamoured (like his sister Farah) with the 'masala' movies and music of the seventies (though in this number the sixties too has been taken into consideration), and after the remix we chance upon yet another song that makes us go down the memory lane in form of , 'I Don't Know What To Do'. And in comes in veteran singer, late Rafi voiced Shabbir Kumar (Amitabh Bachchan's voice in the mid-80s), to render the number in his own unique lovable style. Shabbir ruled the eighties and was the true successor to the legend, late Mohammad Rafi. He surely lights up the song with his singing and shows that he has lost none of his charm as he sings and emotes as well. However this time it is Sunidhi Chauhan who emerges the showstopper as she is simply superb, modulating her vocals and singing in the characteristic nasal style of the yore..."
The following playlist features the official song from the film Housefull as picturized on Jiah Khan and Akshay Kumar, followed by a remixed version.
“Jiah was adorable. Ever since I worked with her in Housefull, I’ve said that she was one of the most sporting actresses I have ever worked with. We pulled her leg and played pranks on her almost every day on the sets, but she handled every prank we played on her very sweetly. She was very lovable and amazingly kind, and was always happy in her own space. She wasn't interested much in this industry's rat race. But what I remember the most about Jiah was that no matter how shy she felt, she always tried very hard and gave it her all: right from her dancing skills to her Hindi diction, due to which she reminded me a lot of Katrina (Kaif)."