Will Shah Rukh Khan make a comeback with the classes this year?
By Madhav Khanna
CHICAGO: 2014, by most yardsticks, was a disappointing year for film buffs. While Hollywood continued to impress, our very own Hindi film industry flip flopped between the inspiring Queen and the mind-numbing and regressive Action Jackson. We saw the brilliance of Dedh Ishqiya and Haider come up against the foolishness and idiocy of Humshakals. However, as a new year dawns, I look forward to putting my woes behind and focusing on the movies that I look forward to this year.
- Detective Byomkesh Bakshi: Dibakar Banerjee’s ode to the famous Bengali sleuth comes alive this April and like all his earlier films promises to be a fantastic cinematic experience. Being produced by YRF, Byomkesh Bakshi might end the search for the first Indian film franchise with the rights of all 31 books being bought by a production house. Watch it for Dibakar’s magic cinematic touch and if the trailer is anything to go by for a glimpse of Calcutta in its heyday.
- Bombay Velvet: If Mumbai Fables is a benchmark, then this movie is definitely a Tour de Force in waiting. Gyan Prakash’s superb history of Mumbai comes alive on the screen through the cinematic mind of Anurag Kashyap. With a cast comprising of Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Karan Johar and Mumbai in the 1960s, this movie promises to be a classic in the making. My only hope is that this time the movie outshines the book.
- Fan and Raees: Now call me a fan boy, but for me nothing beats the experience of watching Shah Rukh Khan on screen. The past few years, with Chennai Express and Happy New Year, the almighty SRK has taken a beating with the classes. However, this year, Shah Rukh returns with Maneesh Sharma’s (Band Baaja Baaraat fame) Fan and Rahul Dholakia’s Raees. While in Fan Shah Rukh is reportedly playing a double role as his own Fan, in Raees, he dons the role of a gangster being chased by Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Both films will look to revisit the Shah Rukh of Swades and Chak De! India and I for one cannot wait.
- Dil Dhadakne Do: Zoya Akhtar’s ensemble drama about a Punjabi family on a cruise promises to be fascinating.With a director known best for her ability to reflect relationships on screen, be prepared for hard look at familial relationships from Zoya’s fly on the wall perspective. It also doesn’t hurt that Ranveer Singh, Anushka Sharma, Anil Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Farhan Akhtar all share screen space in this film.
- Tamasha: The romantic Hindi movie is an institution in itself and despite losing its sheen in the past few years there is one man who carries the baton forward with élan – Imtiaz Ali. He is perhaps the only Indian filmmaker today capable of making a real world romance. Watch it for him and if that isn’t enough, go watch Ranbir and Deepika light up the screen.
Here’s wishing you a very happy year at the movies!
(Madhav Khanna is Engineer by training, Energy Trader by profession, philosophy and pop culture enthusiast by choice.)
2 Comments
sultan Roks In shaa Allah
fan,raees, srk rohit shetti next…………2015……………………..atbb…………..cant wait……………….