The year 2018 has a mixed bag when it comes to the entertainment industry. From the release of Padmavat in March to the comeback of Rani Mukherji to Rajnikanth-Akshay Kumar’s 2.0 to star kids making their debut, Bollywood has plenty to offer, says SUNDAY PIONEER
Don’t miss these
BIG POTENTIAlIJ
Kaalakaandi (a Marathi slang for when things go disastrously wrong): A black comedy film starring Saif Ali Khan. The film is directed and written by Akshat Verma and is produced by Rohit Khattar and Ashi Dua.
His movie Chef didn’t do too well, we hope that one impresses the viewers.
FOR THAT TIME OF THE MONTH
Pad Man: On January 26, 2018, it’s Akshay Kumar. The film is about Arunachalam Muruganantham, a man who manufactures economical sanitary napkins at the risk of being belittled.
The movie is directed by R Balki who is known to mix quirky with credibility.
BROMANCE IN THE AIR
Sonu Ki Titu Ki Sweety: The film explores the newage version of the same belief where marriage is a marriage between two friend circles. What happens when you decide to get married, but your best friend and your girlfriend can’t see eye to eyeIJ
Director-producer luv Ranjan gets into the head of the young in this rom-com where Sonu’s (Kartik Aaryan) over-possessive best friend Titu (Sunny Singh) gets a girlfriend Sweety (Nushrat Bharucha).
NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED
PARI: This is Anushka Sharma’s first movie to release after her marriage to cricketer Virat Kohli. The poster that is released shows marks around her ankle which suggests that there may be a bit of a scare quotient in this one. This is the third production with Sharma’s production house, Clean Slate Films.
THE COMEBACK
Hichki: Here Rani Mukerji plays a teacher with a neurological disability. This official remake of a little-known American film Front Of The Class. The film is directed by Sidharth Malhotra and produced by Maneesh Sharma under the banner of Yash Raj Films.
SIRCAR’S ROM-DRAMA
October: The movie may be titled October but it is releasing in April. But like someone said: What’s in a name. Any film by Shoojit Sircar is bound to be good. The film stars Varun Dhawan and newcomer Banita Sandhu in the lead and slated to release sometime in April.
TIME FOR FRIENDS
Veere Di Wedding: Directed by Shashanka Ghosh, this film is co-produced by Rhea Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor and Nikhil Dwivedi and stars Kareena Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania in lead. It will be interesting to see this all women actor movie slated to release in May.
GO FOR GOlD
Gold: If Padman was Akshay Kumar’s release on Republic Day, his third movie in this year is slated to release on Independence Day week too. The film is a recreation of the country’s historic win for Hockey at the 1948 Olympics.
The big fight
After much controversy, heated debate and protests, I hope that Padmavat will see the light of the day in 2018 especially now after the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) certified it with a U/A rating and has asked for a change in the title to Padmavat along with five modifications. last year, the film was at a peak of its popularity and people really wanted to see it but then suddenly everything went haywire. I feel the whole issue got politicised. It was a desperate attempt of the people to come into the limelight. Politicians, NGOs and other social and political outfits, unfortunately, are waiting for such opportune moments and they would jump into the fray and make the most of it without realising what harm they are doing to the filmmakers and to the creative freedom of the country.
A lot of people said the delay happened because of the Gujarat and Rajasthan elections. It was decided to put it on hold so that it doesn’t affect the Rajput votes. Without seeing the film, it is sad that people apprehended the decision and apprehensive what is going to happen in the movie. And they just created havoc. It was not fair on the part of director, producer and all the cast and crew because it suffered a setback.
I feel social chaos in the society happens when people from all walks of life become the decisive body and start taking decisions on everybody’s behalf. It was to be decided by the CBFC whether the film is eligible for the certification or not. What is the relevance of CBFC if other people are going to decideIJ
The entire fraternity came together and signed the petition too but it is just an effort to reunite the fraternity and realign the emotions. It is something on paper and not something that is going to make larger impact apart from building the pressure on the Board and speed up the process.
We all have to wait for the right time. It is also the question of releasing the film in the right theatre and at the opportune time, probably an extended holiday period. All of that needs to be taken into consideration so that they have about six or seven days of nonstop run. No matter how much delays will happen, Padmavat will not lose its charm. People will still wait for its release.
— As told to Sangeeta Yadav
Directorial Debuts
THE ClASHIJ
Fanne Khan: A musical comedy directed by Atul Manjrekar, it stars Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Rajkummar Rao in the lead. The film is an official remake of the Oscar-nominated Belgian 2000 film Everybody's Famous!
As of now, the film is slated to release at the same time as Salman Khan’s Race 3 starring Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol and Jacqueline Fernandez as well.
RAJNI-AKSHAY RUlE
CHITTI IS BACK
2.0: Starring Rajinikanth, Akshay Kumar and Amy Jackson the film is directed by S Shankar. This the first Indian film shot in 3D. We hope the music will be good since AR Rahman composed the music. The movie is also said to be the most expensive film made in India and to be released in 15 languages!
THE BIOPICS
GETITING REAl
Sanjay Dutt’s biopic: Ranbir Kapoor playing Sanjay Dutt in a film directed by Raj Kumar Hirani may throw up some interesting results. The film is slated to release on March 30, 2018.
lIFE CHANGING
Super 30: The movie is based on the famous mathematics teacher and IIT-JEE coach Anand Kumar. The biopic will showcase the process through which 30 students undergo a pivotal change in their careers. The Hrithik Roshan starrer, who plays Kumar, in this biopic, is directed by Vikas Bahl.
THEY ARE HERE TOO
Zero: It is a comedy-drama written by Himanshu Sharma and directed by Anand l Rai. It features Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma in the lead.
1921: A horror film, produced by Vikram Bhatt starring Zarine Khan and Karan Kundra. This the fourth film in the 1920 series.
102 Not Out: A comedy-drama film starring Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor in the lead. This film is based on a running Gujarati play written by Saumya Joshi by the same name. Big B plays a 102-year-old man and Rishi Kapoor plays his 75-year-old son.
Afghan-In search of a Home: Singer Adnan Sami makes his film debut with this one. The story is of a musician who flees his country Afghanistan and seeks refuge elsewhere.
Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas: A romantic film, written and directed by Sunny Deol starring Deol's son, Karan Deol.
Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se: Directed by Navaniat Singh, it is a sequel to the 2013 film, Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 and stars Dharmendra, Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol with a completely new storyline.
Simmba: Directed by Rohit Shetty and co-produced by Karan Johar, the movie stars Ranveer Singh, who plays a cop in this one.
Total Dhamaal: A comedy film directed and co-produced by Indra Kumar along with Ashok Thakeria and Ajay Devgn. It is the sequel to 2011 film Double Dhamaal starring Riteish Deshmukh, Arshad Warsi, Aashish Chaudhary and Jaaved Jaaferi. The movie also has Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Ajay Devgn and Niharica Raizada.
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi: A biopic on the life of Rani laxmibai of Jhansi.Directed by National Award Winning Director Krish, it stars Kangana Ranaut who plays the title role of Rani laxmibai.