By Asjad Nazir
THERE are a number of interesting movies from all over the world to cater to diverse audiences.
While some will come straight out of places like India and Pakistan, others will be international films featuring South Asian talents. Eastern Eye’s annual preview looks at some of the movies to look forward to.
50. Ginny Weds Sunny: The romantic comedy is a Delhi set story about the daughter of a matchmaker unable to find a groom, who unexpectedly falls for a man who is the complete opposite to her. Yami Gautam and Vikrant Massey star in a film that has been described as a new age romance. Expect: A fun film about opposites attracting.
49. Gunjan Saxena-The Kargil Girl: The daughter of late actress Sridevi, Janhvi Kapoor returns for her second film and plays the title role. The story based on real events revolves around India’s first Air Force woman officer who fought in the Kargil war of 1999 and emerged victorious. Expect: A film that also explores Gunjan’s close relationship with her supportive father.
48. The Girl On The Train: The Bollywood remake of the Hollywood movie of the same name stars Parineeti Chopra in the lead role. Parineeti plays an alcoholic divorcee who gets embroiled in a missing person’s investigation. Expect: A potentially career resurrecting performance from the movie’s lead actress Parineeti.
47. Roohi Afza: The horror comedy stars Janhvi Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao in the lead roles. The story reportedly revolves around the spirit of a man who abducts brides on their honeymoon. Expect: The same kind of comedy as 2018 sleeper hit Stree and a guest appearance from that film’s star Shraddha Kapoor.
46. Haathi Mere Saathi: Rana Daggubati stars in the powerful drama about a conflict that arises when a corporate giant threatens to destroy the jungle and the eco-system of elephants. He portrays a local who rises up to protect the forest and animals. Expect: The multilingual film was simultaneously shot in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi, so it will release in all the three languages.
45. Khaali Peeli: The Bollywood remake of 2018 Telugu film Taxiwaala stars rising stars Ishaan Khattar and Ananya Pandey. The spooky fantasy film revolves around a taxi driver, a passenger and a car that seems to be possessed with a ghost. Expect: A spooky romance with a twist.
44. Bob Biswas: A spin-off based on a character that appeared in smash hit 2012 film Kahaani. Abhishek Bachchan takes on the title role in what is expected to be the story of an ordinary man, who also works as an assassin. Chitrangada Singh also stars in the film, which has Shah Rukh Khan as one of the producers. Expect: Plenty of twists.
43. Toofan: The Bhaag Milkha Bhaag team of director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and actor Farhan Akhtar reunite for a powerful drama about the rise of a boxer, who balances a troubled personal life with sporting glory. The film also stars Paresh Rawal, Isha Talwar and Mrunal Thakur. Expect: Scenes of Farhan training and a chiselled physique.
42. Kamli: Hindi Medium lead star Saba Qamar plays the lead role in this Pakistani film, which has been described as a tragic love story with a universal sensibility. The rustic film set in rural Punjab also stars Sania Saeed, Nimra Bucha, Eman Shahid and Umair Rana. Expect: A female-centric drama about love and loss.
41. Dostana 2: The next instalment in the franchise is a stand-alone story that stars Kartik Aaryan, Janhvi Kapoor and Lakshya Lalwani in the lead roles. The Karan Johar produced film will once again likely revolve around the protagonists pretending to be gay and will have plenty of humour. Expect: Lead star Janhvi said Dostana 2 is more emotional than the first one.
40. Shakuntala Devi-Human Computer: Vidya Balan takes on the title role in a biopic revolving around Shakuntala Devi, who was known as the human computer. The story looks at the life of a woman who shot to international fame because of her extraordinary abilities and the books she authored. Expect: An inspiring drama about an extraordinary woman.
39. Gulabo Sitabo: Acclaimed director Shoojit Sircar previously delivered hit film Vicky Donor with Ayushmann Khurrana and Piku with Amitabh Bachchan. Now, he has teamed up the two popular stars for the first time for his next directorial outing, which revolves around characters based on popular glove puppets. Expect: A comedy-drama depicting the struggles of the common man and a strong social message.
38. Mumbai Saga: The Sanjay Gupta directed underworld drama boasts an impressive star cast that includes John Abraham, Emraan Hashmi, Suniel Shetty, Jackie Shroff and Prateik Babbar. The actiondrama looks at the changing face of Mumbai during the 1980s and the 1990s. Expect: A story of gangsters based on real life events.
37. Coolie No. 1:Varun Dhawan and Sara Ali Khan take on roles originally played by Govinda and Karisma Kapoor in the remake of the 1995 hit film. The comedy revolves around a wealthy woman, who falls in love with a man she thinks is rich, but is unaware he is really a coolie. Expect: A remixed version of Main To Raste Se Jaa Raha Tha, which appeared in the original and lots of laughs.
36. Bunty Aur Babli 2: A sequel to the 2005 crime comedy set 10 years after the events of the first film. Siddhant Chatruvedi and Sharvari play two young con artists, with Rani Mukerji and Saif Ali Khan likely playing the older reformed criminals on their trail. Expect: Lots of clever cons from start to finish.
35. Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2: Although the horror comedy is being billed as a sequel to 2007 film Bhool Bhulaiyaa, there is a brand new lead cast, and it will be a standalone story following similar themes. There will once again be spooky happenings in a film that has rising stars Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani in the lead role. Expect: More laughs than scares and two songs from the original.
34. Jodi: He may be enjoying massive success in Bollywood, but singer turned actor Diljit Dosanjh remains connected to his Punjabi roots. You can catch him on the big screen this summer opposite Nimrat Khaira in the Punjabi language period musical romance, which he has also produced. Expect: A great soundtrack and a film rooted in the heart of Punjab.
33. Kurup: The Malayalam film sees popular actor Dulquer Salmaan play a negative role for the first time and portray infamous criminal Sukumara Kurup. The 1980s set drama revolves around the real-life story of a murderer, who faked his death and fled abroad. Expect: An eye-opening real-life story about an infamous criminal who was never caught.
32. Rambo: The Bollywood remake of a Hollywood action franchise that started with the 1980s films First Blood and Rambo. Tiger Shroff takes on the lead role of fearless soldier who is like a one-man army and a deadly killing machine. Expect: Elements of a few different Rambo movies rolled into one and lots of bloodshed.
31. Laxmmi Bomb: The Bollywood remake of Tamil film Kanchana stars Akshay Kumar and Kiara Advani in the lead roles. The story revolves around a ghost haunting an innocent man to take revenge and an exorcist who gets caught in the middle. Expect:A horror comedy which mixes up scares and laughs.
30. Sardar Udham Singh: The Shoojit Sircar directed biopic revolves around a revolutionary freedom fighter, who assassinates the former lieutenant governor of Punjab (Michael O’Dwyer) on March 13, 1940, in revenge for the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. The powerful drama based on real life events charts his daring journey and him getting hanged. Expect: A powerful performance from Vicky Kaushal in the title role.
29. Sadak 2: Legendary Bollywood filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt makes a return to directing with a sequel to his unforgettable 1991 hit film Sadak. Sanjay Dutt, Pooja Bhatt, Alia Bhatt and Aditya Roy Kapur play the lead roles in the romantic drama, which carries on the story decades later. Expect: A deeply emotional story about unconditional love.
28. Aadujeevitham: The Malayalam film based on real life events and a best selling book tells the truelife tale of an Indian immigrant worker in Saudi Arabia who was wrongly picked up and then escapes into the desert, where he embarks on a long journey to freedom. Indian Oscar winners Resul Pookutty (sound) and AR Rahman (music) have both worked on the film. Expect: An extraordinary journey of survival.
27. Bhuj: The Pride of India: The army drama based on real life events is set during the 1971 India-Pakistan war. Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha, Rana Daggubati and Ammy Virk head a star cast in the story of an army officer who reconstructs the runway at an IAF airbase with the help of 300 local women, so Indian soldiers could land safely. Expect: A patriotic army drama.
26. Angrezi Medium: The follow-up to 2017 smash hit film Hindi Medium is the first Bollywood release to star Irrfan Khan since his devastating cancer diagnosis in 2018. The story revolves around an Indian father doing whatever it takes to raise the money for his daughter’s tuition in England. Kareena Kapoor Khan and Radhika Madan also star in the film. Expect: A winning performance from Irrfan and a heart warming story.
25. Bachchan Pandey: Akshay Kumar plays the lead role in the Bollywood remake of 2014 Tamil movie Veeram. The story revolves around brothers living in a village who constantly get into trouble, but have to negotiate finding love and taking on goons who try to get in their way. Expect: A film that looks like an action-drama, but is in fact a story about finding love.
24. V: The Telugu action thriller will see South Indian superstar Nani playing a negative role for the first time and going up against a police officer portrayed by popular actor Sudheer Basu. Aditi Rao Hydari and Nivetha Thomas also star in the fast-paced film, written and directed by Mohankrishna Indraganti. Expect: Lots of bullets.
23. Jayeshbhai Jordaar: The Maneesh Sharma directed comedy-drama revolves around an ordinary man who steps up to fight for the rights of women. Ranveer Singh and Shalini Pandey star in a film that is expected to offer up a quirky story with a unique twist. Expect: A film that conveys an important social message.
22. Master: The Tamil language action thriller written and directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj stars Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi in the lead roles. There have been reports this will be an action film with Vijay portraying a college professor taking a stand against dark forces. Expect: Rousing dialogues, grey characters and big fight scenes.
21. The Intern: Deepika Padukone and Rishi Kapoor play the lead roles in an official Bollywood remake of 2015 Hollywood comedy The Intern. The story revolves around an elderly man bored of retirement who decides to become an intern and befriends a young female work colleague. Expect:A feel good comedy-drama with laughter and emotions.
20. Thalaivi: A biopic revolving around late film actress turned influential politician J Jayalalithaa. The big budget drama charts her journey from starring in South Indian films to becoming a party chief and the popular chief minister of Tamil Nadu. Expect: Lead star Kangana Ranaut to undergo a massive physical transformation.
19. Chiru152: The film with the working title Chiru152 is the 152nd to star South Indian megastar Chiranjeevi. He will reportedly play a government officer fighting against corruption in a film, which has an extended guest appearance from popular actor Ram Charan and is expected to have a social message. Expect: The film title to change.
18. Mogul: The Subhash Kapoor directed biographical drama sees Aamir Khan take on the challenging role of late music mogul Gulshan Kumar. The story traces the extraordinary rise of a man who set up one of India’s most successful record label T-Series and then was murdered at a relatively young age by the underworld. Expect: An extraordinary story of triumph and heartbreak.
17. Valimai: The Tamil language action thriller has South Indian superstar Ajith Kumar in the lead role. The Diwali release will see the popular action hero playing a fearless police officer with negative shades taking on bad guys. Expect: High speed action scenes in the movie.
16. Maidaan: A biopic of football team coach Syed Abdul Rahim, who led India to victory in the Asian games in 1951 and 1962, along with reaching the semi-finals of the 1956 Melbourne Olympic football tournament. Ajay Devgn plays the lead role in India’s first high-profile football biopic. Expect: A feel good sports drama.
15. Jersey: The Bollywood remake of 2019 Telugu film Jersey sees Shahid Kapoor taking on the lead role of a struggling man trying to resurrect his cricketing career in his mid-thirties in order to support his family. Mrunal Thakur also stars in a drama that is told by the man’s now grown up son and how it is connected to a precious jersey. Expect: A sports drama with lots of emotion.
14. Sooryavanshi: Director Rohit Shetty returns with a larger than life action film featuring another fearless police officer. This time around Akshay Kumar plays the daring super cop who is battling against bad guys. There will be plenty of big stunts in a film, which also stars Katrina Kaif. Expect: Powerful cameos from Ranveer Singh and Ajay Devgn portraying title characters they played in Shetty’s films Simmba and Singham, respectively.
13. Radhe - Your Most Wanted Bhai: After delivering three flop films in a row, Salman Khan is planning to reclaim Eid with this action film directed by Prabhu Deva. Disha Patani, Jackie Shroff and Randeep Hooda also star in what is reportedly a Bollywood remake of 2017 Korean movie The Outlaws. Expect: A larger than life escapist action film loaded with big stunts.
12. Jaan: The hotly anticipated period romance with the working title Jaan stars Prabhas and Pooja Hegde. The powerful story is set in a time period not done before in Indian cinema and is being made on a large scale. Expect: The title may change. The film will have a huge opening day thanks to hot star Prabhas.
11. Gangubai Kathiawadi: The new film from ace director Sanjay Leela Bhansali is shrouded in secrecy and has Alia Bhatt in the title role. The powerful story revolves around a fearless female brothel owner and businesswoman with strong connections to the underworld. Expect: A mafia tale based on real life events.
10. Indian 2: The action thriller is a sequel to iconic 1996 film Indian and sees Kamal Haasan reprising his role of a patriot. The story is once again expected to revolve around an elderly vigilante taking the law into his own hands and battling a corrupt system. Kajal Aggarwal and Priya Bhavani Shankar also star in the film. Expect: A strong message in tune with important social issues and eye-catching special effects.
9. Takht: The Karan Johar directed historical epic stars Ranveer Singh, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Alia Bhatt, Bhumi Pednekar, Vicky Kaushal, Janhvi Kapoor and Anil Kapoor in the lead roles. The actiondrama based on real life events revolves around a fight to the finish battle for the Mughal throne. Expect: Larger than life sets, colourful costumes and big battle scenes.
8. Mogal Mowgli: The best British Asian movie to look out for in 2020 is a powerful musical drama about a rapper on the cusp of his first world tour, who is struck down by a serious illness and could lose it all. Riz Ahmed plays the lead role in a movie he has co-produced and co-written. Expect: A feel good film with big rap tunes.
7. The Legend Of Maula Jatt: The high-profile drama inspired by an iconic film was supposed to be the biggest Pakistani film release of 2019, but ran into legal trouble and will now hit cinemas this year. The film starring Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan, Hamza Ali Abbasi and Humaima Mallick is expected to smash every Pakistani box office record. Expect: The story of tribal battles to be a gamechanger for Pakistani cinema.
6. Out Of The Fire: The Hollywood film that was earlier titled Dhaka sees Chris Hemsworth play a mercenary hired to rescue a kidnapped son of a Bangladeshi businessman. The action-thriller that has been be shot extensively in India also has Bollywood stars Manoj Bajpayee and Randeep Hooda in the cast. Expect: The Netflix original is likely to premiere on the streaming site.
5. ‘83: Ranveer Singh portrays Kapil Dev in the hotly anticipated film revolving around India winning their first cricket world cup in 1983. The Kabir Khan directed sports drama charts the true story of cricket’s greatest ever upset when Indian defied the odds to beat the then world’s greatest team West Indies. Expect: An uplifting drama that combines India’s three biggest passions, namely cricket, Bollywood and patriotism.
4. Green Knight: British Asian actor Dev Patel plays the lead role in the medieval fantasy adventure based on the 14th century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The story follows chivalrous and loyal Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur’s round table, who accepts the challenge of beheading the Green Knight. Expect: A medieval set chivalric romance with a fantasy spin.
3. Brahmastra: The delayed superhero film finally releases on December 4 this year and is part of a planned trilogy. The Ayan Mukerji directed fantasy adventure boasting big special effects stars Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Amitabh Bachchan and South Indian superstar Nagarjuna in the lead roles. Expect: This film could redefine the superhero genre in Bollywood.
2. Laal Singh Chaddha: The big-budget Bollywood remake of iconic 1994 Hollywood film Forrest Gump sees Aamir Khan take on the title role. The big 2020 Christmas release revolves around a slow-witted man who unwittingly finds himself in the middle of important moments in history. Kareena Kapoor Khan also plays a key role in the feel good film. Expect: State of the arts special effects and a winning performance from Aamir Khan.
1. RRR: The next offering from Baahubali director SS Rajamouli is the most anticipated Indian film of the next 12 months. The Telugu language production with the working title RRR is a pre-independence era historical epic about real-life revolutionary freedom fighters, which has South Indian superstars N T Rama Rao Jr and Ram Charan in the lead roles.
The impressive supporting cast includes Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgn, Olivia Morris, Ray Stevenson and Alison Doody. Expect: Eye-catching battle scenes and for the film to be released in multiple languages.
Also look out for
Mahabharat: Deepika Padukone will produce and play Draupadi in a mega-budget movie based on the Indian historical epic.
The Big Bull: Abhishek Bachchan plays a lead role in the story reportedly based on one of India’s biggest securities scams.
Money Back Guarantee: Popular actor Fawad Khan plays the lead role in the Pakistani satirical comedy, which boasts an ensemble cast, including cricketer Wasim Akram.
Kahay Dil Jidhar: Mansha Pasha and actor-singer Junaid Khan star in the Pakistani film, which is about friendship, transformation and self-discovery.
Lootcase: Kunal Khemu stars in a comedy about a man who finds a suitcase of money.
Nikamma: Romantic comedy starring Shilpa Shetty and Abhimanyu Dassani
Chehre: Mystery thriller starring Amitabh Bachchan and Emraan Hashmi in lead roles.
Mr Lele: Varun Dhawan takes on the challenging role in this action comedy.
Tich Button: Feroze Khan, Farhan Saeed, Sonya Hussyn and Iman Ali star in the Pakistani action-comedy romance.
Shershaah: Sidharth Malhotra plays Captain Vikram Batra in the biographical drama set during the 1999 Kargil War.
Haseena Dillruba: Taapsee Pannu and Vikrant Massey star in a murder mystery within a twisted love story.
Atrangi Re: A romantic drama starring Akshay Kumar, Dhanush and Sara Ali Khan.
Durgo Rahashya: This Bengali film is a sequel to 2019 detective thriller Satyanweshi Byomkesh.
