This year, Bollywood filmmakers are ready to let their creativity fly by bringing a number of films to the big screen that will happily sweep us away from reality. From the perplexing plots of Thugs of Hindostan and Padmavat to an avalanche of varied pleasures, here’s a roundup of the most anticipated films featuring some of Bollywood’s biggest talents that we’ll most be looking forward to in 2018.
Padmavat
The blockbuster, starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor, is an operatic version of a Sufi poem Padmavat, depicting the life of legendary 14th-century Hindu queen Padmini, who immolates herself rather than fall prisoner to a conquering Muslim ruler. After baseless but persistent rumors that the film, earlier titled Padmavati, depicted Padmini in intimate love scenes with the Muslim king, there were protests, attacks on the set and director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and threats to mutilate Padukone by Hindu activists. Surely mob can’t derail a film with this much star power. Now, it’s scheduled to release on January 25, as Padmavat.
With his films, Devdas, Ram-Leela and Bajirao Mastani, Bhansali marked himself out as one of modern cinema’s greatest visual stylists. This too, judging from the trailers, has been shot with stunning visual flair and a huge dose of camp. At once brutal and tender, biting and romantic, this period drama incorporates all that it takes — music, beautiful costumes, lavish set, battle scenes et all — for a memorable watch.
Zero
Here’s a frenetic concept: an ambitious Shah Rukh Khan, at the height of his stardom, is going method to play a dwarf. In his 50s now, Khan, who has become Bollywood’s No.1 leading man and one of the world’s biggest movie star flaunting his six-pack abs and singing to his sweetheart, is finally breaking free of his trappings in Aanand L Rai’s Zero. In recent films, Dear Zindagi, Raees and Fan, Khan’s been quietly trying to dial down his emotive, screen-hogging performance to play subdued, serious roles. Zero should be the culmination of a new face of King Khan. If nothing else, Khan’s physical transformation into a dwarf should net him plenty of awards nods this time next year. It’s scheduled to release in December.
Pad Man
This is another star-driven movies focused on women’s issues. Akshay Kumar takes on the subject of menstrual hygiene, portraying the real-life social entrepreneur Arunachalam Muruganantham, the inventor who risked everything, including his own reputation, to introduce low-cost and easily accessible sanitary napkins to poor women in India. The fact that it’s written and directed by Cheeni Kum and Paa’s R. Balki should be just enough to convince. Expect subtle human drama and social commentary.
Sanju
Biopics currently rule the roost in Bollywood. Ranbir Kapoor teams up with PK and 3 Idiots director Rajkumar Hirani for the story of one of its own — ’90s superstar Sanjay Dutt. Considering Dutt’s love affairs, drug addiction, underworld connections and massive success that he’s earned, it’s hard not to be a bit intrigued. From beefing up to growing a beard, Kapoor nails the physical impersonation. However, the film would mean nothing without compelling performances. “We are trying to show a very human side of Sanjay Dutt, his perils, his downfall, his will to fight,” Kapoor said in an interview with PTI.
Hirani’s methodical attention to detail will ensure that this biopic not only works as a truthful approximation of Dutt’s real life, but also makes sense of the mass of contradictions Dutt embodies. It’s scheduled to release on June 29.
Thugs of Hindostan
Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan star in what appears to be based on Philip Meadows Taylor’s 1839 novel Confessions of a Thug, about a gang of bandits, who posed a serious challenge to the British Empire in India. It’ll be interesting to see how Vijay Krishna Acharya adapts it for screen. Recently, Bachchan blogged about the “harsh schedule” of the period action-adventure filmed in Thailand. That’s all anyone knows. Nevertheless, you should still be excited. After experimental PK and Dangal, this looks like a fun enough diversion at the very least for Khan. The film will arrive in November.
2.0
It has been around a little while now but time has not dinted our appetite to see what director Shankar does with this sequel of 2010 film Robot. In 2.0 Rajinikanth, a larger-than-life actor from the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, reprises the role of scientist Chitti and meets his match Akshay Kumar, who plays his adversary, in the film. The film, made with a whopping budget of over $45 million, marks Kumar’s debut in Tamil cinema. Granted, the Tamil superstar can take down an army, but so can the Bollywood superstar — it will certainly have a clash of the titans feel. So get ready to watch some epic action on April 27.
