This year you will know why Katappa killed Bahubali

You would have thought 2017 would be a laughter riot (10 of them, including Hera Pheri 3) or a romantic year (no less than 17 love stories listed), not to forget the cut-throat line-up (as many as 10) of intensely action-oriented films likeKaabil andRaees opening the entertainment doors for you this year with a big clash in January itself. But it’s all a mixed bag of big films, big production houses, debuts, new cinema and known jodis visiting the screen. Imagine, the year opening on January 6 with TV’s comic wonder boy Dr Gulati, aka Sunil Grover, starring in Coffee With D. Hearts have often been broken by TV’s comedy stars going down the drain in Bollywood so one wishes that the absolutely stunning TV comedian Grover does not script the same story. More on that some other day, but here goes what’s in the bag this 2017 and how impactful it promises to be.

Bahubali: The Conclusion: One sincerely hopes that 2017’s OMG! moment does not fall flat, that the billion-wait answer to “why Kattappa killed Bahubali” is answered in style, that director Raja Mouli gives the viewers what they have been waiting to hear and see for two years now with the right amount of satisfaction. The film, which made the biggest amount of money in 2015, got delayed for a year and is now slated to release on April 28. Mouli being a marketing genius will do all he can to keep up the expectations and has, till now, fought intense speculation, leaks, some serious analysis around the unanswered question and even quiz contests to keep alive the heartbeat in a mystery he so carefully constructed way back in 2015. This time, he will be spending around Rs2 billion (second to Robot 2’s Rs4 billion) to merely answer just one question. As hypes go, nothing can be higher than this one, forget movies like Shah Rukh Khan’s Raees, Salman Khan’s Tubelight and Hrithik Roshan’s Kaabil.

Sarkar 3: While the wait continues for the good old Amitabh Bachchan to do a Cheeni Kum for us again, his association with the increasingly disastrous Ram Gopal Varma continues and will be telling you how the grand old man of Hindi cinema will play Sarkar for the third time on March 17. Co-stars Jackie Shroff, Manoj Bajpayee, Ronit Roy, Yami Gautam and Amit Sadh will be sharing screen space with Big B and you know why predictability will be dealt with by Verma and his ultra-violent, staccato brand of cinema.

Jolly LLB 2: Arshad Warsi, best known for comic cameos throughout his career, and the rememberable one of Circuit in Munnabhai series, tried a serious judicial film last year but could not really manage the eyeballs despite helming an earnest courtroom satire. This year, there’s a sequel to it though not with him but Akshay Kumar in the lead. Akshay, who has graduated into grittily made real-life cinema over the years, carries a reputation of quiet inroads into the most humble of films so this one, written and directed by Subhash Kapoor and co-starring Huma Qureshi, is likely to hit the right note this January.

Hera Pheri 3: The ultimate laughter challenge goes on screen this year with the hit trio of Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty and Paresh Rawal. I say “challenge” because it is almost impossible to maintain the rollicking high standard that the first in this series had set for the audience. The second one was much smaller on the laughs though it did give you a smile here and there. So let’s wait and see if Raju, Shyam and Baburao kick it off with new gusto, especially seen in the context of the film taking three years to build up.

Tiger Zinda Hai: Remember the becoming images of undercover agents Salman and Katrina stitching up a life of anonymity in various groovy places across the globe even as the subcontinent’s two most prominent Intelligence agencies are at their wit’s end trying to track and thrash them down? Well, director Ali Abbas Jafar says, “work has begun. Sun, mountains and laptops”. The fact that Salman and Katrina will be back together after a long break in this sequel of Ek Tha Tiger is not the only reason to lookout for this biggie this Christmas. As it happens, Bollywood has made a name for itself for its slick production qualities when it comes to continent-hopping, racy Intelligence capers, be it Salman or Akshay for that matter.

Aankhen 2: Blind men and their bank heist made quite an impact the last time we saw it 14 years ago, but how far a sequel will be able to combat originality despite the longest break for a sequel remains to be seen. But if it is Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Arjun Rampal and Anil Kapoor, there has to be some meat in it. Besides the fact that Anees Bamzee plans a big clash with Golmaal returns (yet again) this Diwali, it will be second blind-man-in-the-lead film this year, after revenge-retribution drama Kaabil with Hrithik and Yami in the lead splashing tension this month. Apparently, it’s not a bank but a casino this time round.

Commando 2:  Commando came and went with a little bit of ripples here and there. This year too, the stout and muscled Vidyut Jamwal would be punching in his presence with Commando 2, directed by Deven Bhojani and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah. Slated for a March release, it will be difficult to say how much it will matter to viewers, especially with more sound names like Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Alia-Varun, Irrfan, Anushka-Diljit, Vidya Balan  starrers slated for the same month.

The Ring, slated to release on August 11, 2017, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma, is a romantic drama written and directed by Imtiaz Ali. It is set to clash with Crack, starring Akshay Kumar and is directed by Neeraj Pandey.

Jolly LLB 2 and Raabta are not exactly to be labelled as a clash of the titans but Raabta starring Sushant Singh Rajput and Kriti Sanon is sure to give Akshay Kumar some tough competition. The movies are set to release on June 9, 2017.

It appears that Shah Rukh Khan has not learnt his lesson from last year when his Dilwale released with Bajirao Mastani and the latter came out a clear winner. This January, SRK’s Raees is all set to clash with Hrithik Roshan’s Kaabil. The two films are set to release on January 25, 2017.

Slated to release on February 24, 2017, Saif-Shahid-Kangana’s Rangoon is set to clash with Rana Duggabati-Taapsee Pannu starrer Ghazi, the story of an executive naval officer of the Indian Submarine S21 and his team who remain underwater for 18 days.

Sara Ali Khan: Daughter of Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh will be making her debut opposite Hrithik Roshan this year.

Anya Singh: Delhi girl will be paired opposite Aadar Jain, grandson of Raj Kapoor and cousin of actor Ranbir Kapoor, in a movie by Yash Raj Films which has signed her up for three films!

Mahira Khan: Humsafar’s heartbeat Mahira and Fawad’s love interest in the syrupy drama on Zindagi before Pakistani serials were axed on Government policy is all set to make Bollywood debut in Raees.

Yashvardhan Ahuja: Govinda’s son Yash will be debuting in Sajid Nadiadwala’s yet to be titled film this year.

Ishaan Khattar: Shahid Kapoor’s younger brother Ishaan will be making a mark in Bollywood with Dharma Production’s Hindi remake of Marathi blockbuster Sairat. He will be debuting opposite Sridevi and Boney Kapoor’s daughter Jhanvi.

Kanan Gill: This comedian will be making his debut opposite Sonakshi Sinha in Noor.

Karan Deol: Talk has it that Sunny Deol is all set to launch his son in Betaab 2.

Ahan Shetty: After his sister Athiya debuted in 2016, it is time for the brother to make his this year. Salman Khan is mentoring his star kid.

The other star kids likely to seen on the big screen this year are Aaliyah Kashyap, director Anurag Kashyap and his ex-wife Aarti Bajaj’s daughter, Suhana Khan, SRK and Gauri Khan’s daughter, Krishna Shroff , Jackie Shroff and Ayesha’s daughter, Navya Naveli Nanda, Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan’s granddaughter and Aalia Ebrahim, Pooja Bedi’s daughter.     (This year or next)

Rangoon: Vishal Bhardwaj directing an easy-going Saif Ali Khan and an edgy Kangana Ranaut with choco boy Shahid Kapoor thrown in for good measure will make news and perhaps waves too, not just with the cast coup but also with the music if one may say so. Originally planned by Bhardwaj right after his success with Saif in Omkara in 2006, it finally went on floor in 2015 and has taken two years in the making. This includes Kangana’s solo living shift to Mexico for months, shooting in Arunachal Pradesh, injury on set to Shahid Kapoor and what not. The period drama set in the backdrop of World War II releases on February 24, 2017. Kangana has promised it will be a “cinematic orgasm” and singer Sukhwinder has said the music is opera like. What more?

Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya: The year, is seems, is slim on romance so Alia Bhatt teaming up with Varun Dhawan would be a good one to go to. Directed by Shashank Khaitan, the film is expected to be a dark love drama with a lot of fun, frolic, twists and turns with Jhansi boy Varun romancing the uber bindaas Alia Bhatt in Singapore. The film will be powered more by Alia who has emerged as a good actress in a long time, than by Varun.

Phillauri: Diljit Dosanj, the singer-actor, is a rage in Punjab and has slowly grown in public imagination across Bollywood too. This year, when he splashes the screen with producer Anushka Sharma who will also be in the lead in this film, it is definitely going to make news. The romcom Phillauri, helmed by Anshai Lal, is a nether world romance with one in the lead pair playing a ghost! Remember Pattrick Swayze? With Red Chillies thrown in for VFX, the ghost-romance promises to be slick and differently enabled.

Jagga Jasoos: Ranbir Kapoor has been having a torrid time giving duds like Bombay Velvet, Besharam and the like. After Rockstar and Yeh Jawani…, this Kapoor boy who has a committed fan following among the youth has, in my opinion, been too experimental for his age and career. A few more romances, a few more choco boy films and he would just be ready for the innovation he so thrives to bring on screen. This year, he will be seen as the bespectacled Jagga Jasoos with lost love Katrina Kaif and hoping to make good news despite the constant schedule delays since 2013. Directed by Anurag Basu (Barfi) with Pritam helming the scores, the film relies mostly on Ranbir’s acting acumen and variety that he brings to his roles. Fans like me can only pray that Ranbir, who is best when he is romancing, gets it right this time. And by the way, the first look of the film was released on Children’s Day with Ranbir having fun in a classroom. Hope flutters.

Robot 2.0: In the big budget buzz this year, Robot 2.0 makes the big Rs400-crore production splash. Big names floated for this film what with Schwarzenegger being considered for the role which was finally accepted by Akshay Kumar who comes with Rajnikant together for the first time. Though perennial blockbuster all by himself, Rajni did not quite make it rock with Kabali last year, Robot 2.0 will be adding muscle with 3D and enhanced VFX. And there is Amy Jackson too in case you are for candy floss.

Tubelight: The box-office will make a huge sound with Kabir Khan directing Salman Khan for an oddly named film called Tubelight. After the ringing success of Bajrangi Bhaijaan, this one from this duo has a first in Sallu bhai romancing Chinese actress Zhu Zhu who rose to fame as a VJ on MTV China and then moved on to play small roles in Hollywood films, including the memorable Qi Qi in the blockbuster Man With Iron Fists. With Sallu, however, you know who is going to make all the waves.

Padmavati: Man of Bollywood’s showstopper films Sanjay Leela Bhansali will be back with his larger than life historical Padmavati. The maverick director goes yet again with Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, carrying on with tradition since Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ramleela and Bajirao Mastani. After his blockbuster performance as Peshwa Bajirao, the extra-energetic Ranveer will be holding the mantle of Allauddin Khilji in this November release. As Rani Padmavati, Deepika the eternal beauty, would be adding romance to the film which will also have Shahid Kapoor playing Raja Rawal Ratan Singh.

Baadshaho: Ajay Devgn appears twice this year, in Bhushan Kumar and Milan Luthria produced film Baadshaho and later in the year with familiar series Golmaal Again. Badshaho will be his first outing with Emraan Hashmi, Vidyut Jammwal, Ileana D’Cruz and Esha Gupta this September. Yet again, Devgn had an ugly clash coming up with YRF’s Meri Pyari Bindu but this time round he shifted the release date from May 12, to September 1. That was after he shifted from January on humble requests by Hrithik and SRK both watching a January hit with Kaabil and Raees, respectively.

Alien: Covenant (IMAX): Slated to release in the US and the UK on May 19, 2017 this Ridley Scott directed film stars Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston and Billy Crudup among others.

Murder On The Orient Express: Directed by Kenneth Branagh and written by Michael Green. It is based on the 1934 novel of the same name by Agatha Christie. Set to release in the US on November 22, 2017 and stars Johnny Depp, Daisy Ridley and Michelle Pfeiffer.

The Greatest Showman On Earth:  This biographical musical drama film is directed by Michael Gracey and stars Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron and Rebecca Ferguson, the film  will release in the US on December 25, 2017. In India, we hope it will release on December 29, 2017.

Fifty Shades Darker: The second installment of Fifty Shades series is set to release in the US on February 10, 2017. Since the first installment never saw the daylight in India, it is anybody’s guess whether this sequel will air in India. But here’s to hoping!

LEGO Batman: This American-Danish 3D computer-animated action-comedy superhero film is slated to release on February 10, 2017 in the US.

Logan: It is a superhero drama film featuring the Marvel Comics character Wolverine. It is slated to release on March 3, 2017 in the US  .

Kong: Skull Island: The film is a reboot of the King Kong franchise and will serve as the second film in Godzilla–Kong film series. Set to release in the US on March 10, 2017.

Beauty & The Beast: Is a romantic/dark fantasy musical film directed by Bill Condon and written by Stephen Chbosky stars Emma Watson as Beauty, Dan Stevens as the beast and Luke Evans and Kevin Kline. For once we know when this Hollywood movie will come to India — on March 17, 2017.

The Fate Of The Furious: After the death of Paul Walker,  who played Brian in the Fast & Furious series, we all wanted to know what happened to the others. Well, we will know when the movie releases sometime in April this year.

Spiderman: Homecoming: This is the most awaited Hollywood movie in India.  In the US the film releases on July 7, 2017. We hope it will come to India around the same time.

War For The Planet Of The Apes Sequel: It is a sequel to the 2014 film Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and the third installment in the Planet of the Apes reboot series. To release on July 14, 2017 in the US.

Thor: Ragnarok: produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the set to release in the US on November 3, 2017.

Justice League: This Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill and Amy Adams starrer is set to release in the US on November 17, 2017.

Star Wars: Episode VIII: The second installment in the Star Wars sequel trilogy and for now set to release in India on December 25, 2017.

Kingsman, The Golden Circle: This spy action comedy film is directed by Matthew Vaughn and stars Taron Egerton, Julianne Moore, Halle Berry, Mark Strong, Pedro Pascal, Channing Tatum and Jeff Bridges. Reports have it that Harry Hart  (Colin Firth) who had died in the prequel may make a comeback. Set to release on October 6, 2017. 

Source: Sunday Pioneer, 1 January, 2017