Last year was a good one for Bollywood. The industry rediscovered its lost confidence by delivering blockbuster action dramas alongside several commercial successes among films of other genres. Will history repeat itself this year? That will be difficult, considering as many as four Rs 500-plus crore films — Atlee’s Jawan, Siddharth Anand’s Pathaan, Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal and Anil Sharma’s Gadar 2 — made millions gravitate to the theatres in 2023.
With 2024 off to a start, Hrithik Roshan fans must be hoping that their favourite star will rewrite the record books with Siddharth Anand’s action drama Fighter scheduled for release on January 25. Roshan is a star with a famous USP: his matchless screen presence. The film’s teaser suggests he is perfect as a fighter pilot in the lavishly mounted masala entertainer in which he is appearing alongside Deepika Padukone and Anil Kapoor. Helmed by Anand, whose actioner Pathaan crossed the Rs 1000 crore bridge last year, Fighter might become the next big-budget blockbuster from the Hindi film industry.
Another January release that has raised expectations is Sriram Raghavan’s romantic thriller Merry Christmas featuring Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi. If Merry Christmas finds its target audience, it might deliver a good commercial outcome for its producers. Also releasing in January and perfectly capable of becoming a sleeper hit is the Ravi Jadhav-helmed biopic Main Atal Hoon in which Pankaj Tripathi will be seen as the former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. If January gives a good report card to the industry, that will be the perfect start to the new year.
Two Khans, Shah Rukh Khan with Jawan and Pathaan and Salman Khan with Maneesh Sharma’s Tiger 3, gave three of the five biggest hits of 2023. Neither SRK nor Salman will appear on the big screen this year, and Aamir Khan does not have a release either. Ranbir Kapoor, who has sprinted ahead of everybody else apart from SRK after the phenomenal success of Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal, will be absent from the big screen. After making an unexpected comeback with Gadar 2, Sunny Deol, who is presently working on Rajkumar Santoshi’s period film Lahore 1947 produced by Aamir Khan, will not have any release either.
Others who have releases, however, can expect more audiences for their films for long periods without the possibility of a box-office clash with several formidable rivals from Bollywood. What will also contribute to their confidence is the awareness that audiences are ready to pay for tickets and watch films in the theatres if they hear a lot of good news about their content. The foundation of the Rs 500 crore club with several members was laid last year. Can a few of the upcoming films become members of that club? That is possible, of course.
The acrimonious fan war after the release of Rajkumar Hirani’s comedy Dunki and Prashanth Neel’s pan-Indian action film Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire has a lesson for the entire Indian film industry. A clash should be avoided at all costs. It is equally important to remember that when the release of such films coincides, both might lose some viewers. As of now, Sukumar’s Telugu language action drama Pushpa 2: The Rule, which also has a dubbed Hindi version, and Rohit Shetty’s action drama Singham Again will hit the marquee on August 15.
The sequel to Pushpa: The Rise (2021), Pushpa 2 focuses on the life of Pushpa Raj (Allu Arjun), a coolie who reaches a position of considerable power in a smuggling syndicate. The fifth installment of Shetty’s Cop Universe, Singham Again revolves around the hot-tempered cop Bajirao Singham (Ajay Devgn), who retaliates against social evils in his inimitable style. Pushpa and Singham are among the most popular characters in modern-day Indian cinema, but the two films based on their stories might not get as many viewers as they otherwise might if they hit the marquee on the same day.
One Bollywood star who must be looking forward to the coming months with great expectations is Akshay Kumar. The industry’s Mr. Prolific, Kumar has failed to deliver solo successes in recent times. His only hit was Amit Rai’s much-appreciated satirical comedy OMG 2 in which he made a special appearance. Kumar’s critics believe that he needs to do less work to give better outcomes. However, the actor is sticking to his well-known POA by acting in several films, some of them scheduled for release later this year. Apart from Ahmed Khan’s comedy Welcome To The Jungle in which he is a part of a huge star cast and Singham Again — he is making a cameo appearance in the latter — Kumar will appear in the central role in several 2024 releases.
The list of upcoming Kumar films includes Ali Abbas Zafar’s much-anticipated action drama Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, in which he is sharing screen space with Tiger Shroff, who is also waiting to make a comeback after experiencing setbacks with Ahmed Khan’s Heropanti 2 (2022) and Vikas Bahl’s Ganapath:A Hero is Born (2023). Kumar’s fans must be hoping that he will taste some success with the untitled remake of Soorarai Pottru directed by Sudha Kongara, Karan Singh Tyagi’s The Untold Story of C Sankaran Nair and Abhishek Kapoor’s Sky Force. The question is, can he deliver and reestablish himself as one of the leading stars of modern-day Bollywood?
Veteran Ajay Devgn, who has been around for over three decades, has given more hits than most others in his long career. Apart from appearing in the title role in Singham Again, his upcoming films include Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha and Maidaan. A biographical drama revolving around the life of the renowned football coach Syed Abdul Rahim, Maidaan helmed by Amit Sharma is a long-delayed film that can hit the marquee this year. A romantic musical directed by Neeraj Pandey, AMKDT in which Devgn has reunited with the gifted Tabu might spring a surprise for filmgoers if Pandey is at his inspired best. And, if Singham Again does become a huge success, Devgn will issue an emphatic reminder of his power at the box office.
Among the younger stars who have not made it to the list of A-listers, the last year belonged to Vicky Kaushal. Kabir Khan’s sports drama Chandu Champion, which is based on the life of India’s first paralympic gold medalist Murlikant Petkar, is an important film for Kartik Aaryan, who is a couple of years younger than Kaushal. Another much-awaited Aaryan release is Anees Bazmee’s comedy Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3. If BB3 gets released this year and becomes commercially successful, the star’s career will take a big step forward.
History shows that the highlight of many films headlined by female stars in the male star-dominated business of Hindi commercial cinema has been their subjects. Shraddha Kapoor is returning with Stree 2, a horror comedy helmed by Amar Kaushik, who also directed its successful prequel Stree (2018). Can Kapoor, who has teamed up with her Stree o-star Rajkummar Rao once more, become the face of a critically appreciated box-office monster? She can because the popularity of the prequel has ensured enough interest in the sequel. The Crew directed by Rajesh Krishnan starring Tabu, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Kriti Sanon, which revolves around the airline industry, has been in the news for quite some time. Alia Bhatt, who has some interesting choices in the past, is collaborating with director Vasan Bala for Jigra, an action film.
Many release dates of upcoming films might change in the coming months. While we must wait to see whether or not that will happen too often, some pan-Indian films can attract viewers in the North in large numbers. Nag Ashwin’s science fiction film Kalki 2898 AD featuring Prabhas, along with a formidable supporting cast that includes Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan and Deepika Padukone, features prominently in the list of the most widely anticipated films of the year.
The multi-talented Rishab Shetty, who rose to national fame with his action thriller Kantara in 2022, can deliver another much-loved box-office success with Kantara: Chapter 1. Koratala Siva’s action drama Devara: Part 1 starring NT Rama Rao Jr. with Saif Ali Khan as the antagonist and Jahnvi Kapoor, can also find viewers across India. The modern-day viewer of Hindi cinema is prepared to watch any Indian film that excites them – even if it is a dubbed version. It is a reality Bollywood has learned to accept.
There will be no shortage of excitement for filmgoers in the coming months. Yet, it will be difficult not to think of Bollywood films under production featuring leading stars that are not due for release this year. There will be no YRF Spy Universe offering for countless fans of the franchise. The list of films that will hit the marquee after 2024 includes Vishnuvardhan’s The Bull starring Salman Khan, a Sujoy Ghosh film tentatively titled The King in which SRK will appear alongside his daughter Suhana Khan, Farhan Akhtar’s Don 3 with Ranveer Singh in the central role and RS Prasanna’s Aamir Khan starrer Sitaare Zameen Par. Although many film fans would have been infinitely happier had all these films been released this year, some upcoming Hindi films will cast a spell on them. How often that will happen will determine how well the industry will fare in 2024.
The writer, a journalist for three decades, writes on literature and pop culture. Among his books are ‘MSD: The Man, The Leader’, the bestselling biography of former Indian captain MS Dhoni, and the ‘Hall of Fame’ series of film star biographies. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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