MOST AWAITED FILMS OF 2011

DON 2

Genre                  Thriller

Release Date       23 December,2011 (Christmas)

Director               Farhan Akhtar

Cast                    Shahrukh Khan,Priyanka Chopra,Lara Dutta,Hrithik Roshan,Om Puri

Plot                     After taking over underworld in first part of 'Don',now Don wishes to capture europe

X Factor             SRK always exceeds himself when he is playing villain/anti hero since his early days('Baazigar','Darr','Anjaam' and 'Don'),Farhan has a knack of making stylish and surprising film(nobody can deny the mind blowing ending of earlier'Don' or urban treatment of 'Dil Chata Hai'))

Prediction            4/5 (Shahrukh in anti hero role then at least nett business of 200 crores assured)

My Love Story 

Genre                  Action/Romance

Release Date       31ST August,2011

Director               Siddique

Cast                    Salman KhanKareena Kapoor,Mahesh Manjrekar

Plot                     Remake of Malayalam hit 'Bodyguard' and Tamil hit 'Kavalan',this tells a story of a man who has  a strange habit of following somebody as bodyguard whom he admires 

X Factor             Salman in deadly combination of action and romance in full bollywood 'ishtyle' and oomph factor of Kareena with music of Pritam

Prediction            3.5/5(riding high on success of 'Dabangg' and 'Wanted',it presents him again in a 'avatar' loved by all,150 crore nett at least and beyond that you never know how big when Salman is there)

RA.One

Genre                  Sci-Fi

Release Date       26 October,2011 (Diwali)

Director               Anubhav Sinha

Cast                    Shahrukh Khan,Kareena Kapoor,Arjun Rampal

Plot                     Superhero G.One tries to save world from RA.One to prove his bravery to his child

X Factor             First Sci-Fi flick of SRK,trailor looks sleek,special effects are never seen before in Bollywood,already earned 40 crores from satellite right-highest ever for a Hindi film

Prediction            3.5/5 (this will be our own desi Sci-Fi film having international quality,may be set the tone for future and should touch 175 crores mark in nett business)

ROCKSTAR

Genre                  Musical Drama

Release Date       8th July,2011 (Christmas)

Director               Imtiaz Ali

Cast                    Ranbir Kapoor,Nargis Fakiri

Plot                     The journey of a musician and upheavals in his life 

X Factor             Tremendous record of Imtiaz (his last was 'Love Aaj Kal' and before that 'Jab We Met') and his command over storytelling and romance,Ranbir's good record in romantic films('Bachna Ae Haseeno','Wake Up Sid' and 'Ajab Prem Ki Ghajab Ki Kahani')

Prediction            4/5 (dream combo of Ranbir - Imtiaz plus smoking hotie Nargis Fakiri,it looks set for 100 crore plus nett business )

LADIES Vs. RICKY BAHL

Genre                  Romantic Comedy

Release Date       9th December,2011

Director               Maneesh Sharma

Cast                    Ranveer Singh,Anushka Sharma,Parineeti Chopra,Dipannita Sharma,Aditi Sharma

Plot                     A fun filled rom-com where smooth and charming conman keeps playing with girls but finally meets his match

X Factor             Full team of surprise hit 'Band Baaja Baraat'(Ranveer,Anushka,writer Habib Faisal,music duo Salim-Suleiman,director Maneesh and producers Yash Raj) is back

Prediction            4/5 (plot looks simple but expect wonders from the pen of Habib and fresh performances from its cast and you will find this one around 80 crore nett mark at box office)

and few other not so hot but can surprise...

READY             Salman Khan - Asin starrer and directed by Aneez Bazmee full of romance,action and comedy set to release on 3rd June

MAUSAM        Directorial debut of Pankaj Kapoor starring Shahid and Sonam looks heavy on drama and tells story of air force pilot

BARFEE           Directed by Anurag Basu,starring Ranbir,Priyanka and south hotie Ileana revolves around a hospital,nurse and patient

JOKER             3-D flick directed by Shrish Kunder starring Akshay and Sonakshi looks a fun filled outing       

THANK YOU   Starring Akshay Kumar,Bobby Deol and Suneil Shetty,Directed by Aneez Bazmee,this looks to repeat success of 'No Entry' having almost similar storyline

PROMISING 'SMALL' FILMS OF 2011-Part 2

TEEN THAY BHAI

Genre                  Comedy/Drama

Release Date       15th April,2011

Director               Mrigdeep Singh Lamba

Cast                    Om Puri,Shreyas Talpade,Deepak Dobariyal,Ragini Khanna,Yograj Singh

Plot                     Three brothers  are trying to cope up with each other after their father left a 'will' stating that they had to live to together for few days for three years in order to inherit his money

Watch out for      my favorite Deepak Dobariyal(he was great in 'Omkara' and 'Tanu Weds Manu')and Om Puri will be treat to watch 

Prediction            3.5/5 (you can look for a break from 'slapstick' comedies with this situational and natural comedy)

KAHAANI

Genre                  Thriller

Release Date       17th June,2011

Director              Sujoy Ghosh

Cast                    Vidya Balan

Plot                     It is a story of a woman who is searching her husband who has gone missing.Film is shot in Kolkata.

Watch out for      Vidya Balan who is having a tremendous run ('Paa','Ishqiya' and 'NOKJ') in terms of performance as well as box office

Prediction            4/5 (crucial film for Sujoy as he gave two flops in 'Aladin' and 'Home Delivery' after fabulous debut with 'Jhankar Beats')

SHOR IN THE CITY

Genre                  Thriller

Release Date       28th April,2011

Director               Raj Nidimoru,Krishna DK

Cast                    Sendhil Ramamurthy,Tushaar Kapoor,Alok Chaturvedi,Pitabash Tripathi,Nikhil Dwivedi,Preet Desai

Plot                     When noise is deafening around you,can you really hear yourself?That is underlying thought that run through this gritty,edgy,serio-comic and grounded film from the makers of LSD.It revolves around three interconnected stories set in the midst of noise and grim of Ganpati Festival in Mumbai.

Watch out for      Indian theme with an international short film kind of treatment

Prediction            4/5 (after a long time an Indian film has done so well in international film festival circuit)

BHINDI BAAZAAR INC.

Genre                  Thriller/Drama

Release Date       15th April,2011

Director               Ankush Bhatt

Cast                    Kay Kay Menon,Prashant Narayan,Piyush Mishra,Shilpa Shukla,Pawan Mehrotra,Deepti Naval,Catrina Lopez,Gautam Sharma,Shweta Verma

Plot                     The film revolves around gangs of Mumbai who have embraced pickpocketing as an art and means of earning the livelihood.They used their intelligence and spontaneity to surrvive in this dangerous profession and then how a 'pawn' in tis game finally reaches to the other end of chessboard

Watch out for      Stellar performances from Kay Kay,Pawan,Piyush and Prashant

Prediction            4.5/5 (interesting to watch all stalwarts of 'small cinema' in one frame)

CHALO DILLI

Genre                  Comic Drama

Release Date       28th April,2011

Director               Shashant Shah

Cast                    Vinay Pathak,Lara Dutta,Akshay Kumar (Guest appearance)

Plot                     This is a slice of life fun film which will make you laugh as well as bring lump to your throat at the same time.It shows a journey of two contrasting human being and showcases the real India and its colorful and funny people with their eccentries

Watch out for      interesting casting,few experienced actors from theatre will also be seen

Prediction            4/5 (it will be a combination of lively plot and interesting casting)

and few other interesting 'small' budget flicks.....

RAAGINI MMS     (on the lines of 'Paranormal Activity',produced by Ekta Kapoor starring newcomers)

SHAAGIRD             (directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia starring Nana Patekar and Mohit Ahlawat)

MUMBAI CUTTING (medley of different stories,directed by 10 leading directors,huge star cast)

PROMISING 'SMALL' FILMS OF 2011-Part 1

2010 saw success of small budget films directed by debutant directors and starring newcomers i.e. 'Udaan','Tere Bin Laaden','Phans Gaye Re Obama','Band Baaja Baraat' and 'Do Dooni Chaar' and in two months of 2011,shining performance of 'Tanu Weds Manu' and 'Yeh Saali Zindagi' again proved the old saying right that 'Content is king'.
Lets see first part of few more small budget promising ventures of 2011 which can surprise us.

THAT GIRL IN YELLOW BOOTS

Genre                  Thriller

Release Date       June 2011

Director              Anurag Kashyap

Cast                    Kalki Koechin,Naseerudin Shah

Plot                     A racy emotional thriller where Ruth(Kalki) is searching for her father whom she hardly know about but can not forget.Desperation drives her to work at massage parlor without permit.Mumbai,a city that feeds on her misery,a love that eludes her,a mystery that will wreck her but she must encounter.And everyone wants a 'piece' of her.

Watch out for      Impeccable record of director,slick storyline,idea looks great on paper

Prediction            4/5 (watch out for first 'realistic' thriller in bollywood )

I AM

Genre                  Social Drama

Release Date       22nd April,2011

Director              Onir

Cast                    Nandita Das,Manisha Koirala,Juhi Chawla,Sanjay Suri

Plot                     Film consists of four different stories Omar,Abhimanyu,Megha and Afia and these stories deal with social issues like displacement,homophobia,betrayal and child abuse.

Watch out for      cameo by ace directors Anurag Basu and Anurag Kashyap,won few awards at major festivals,first film fully financed via social media

Prediction            4/5 (don't miss it if you want to see new social topics on celluloid)

HAPPI

Genre                  Comedy

Release Date       15th April,2011

Director              Bhavna Talwar

Cast                    Pankaj Kapoor

Plot                     It tells the story of a man who comes to a big city and surprised and surprised with the manner people live life here.With no time to spend with their family,friends and hardly any time to smile,they are in a constant rush,something that ends up amusing Happi further.

Watch out for      This actor-director duo gave us gem like 'Dharma' couple of years back. Charlie Chaplin inspired humor in Pankaj Kapoor style-can't wait for it

Prediction            4/5 (most under utilized powerhouse performer Pankaj Kappor in main lead is good enough reason to watch it )

PAAN SINGH TOMAR

Genre                  Biographical Drama

Release Date       June-July 2011

Director              Tigmanshu Dhulia

Cast                    Irfaan Khan,Mahie Gill,Vipin Sharma

Plot                     From a small town in Madhya Pradesh,Paan Singh joing Bengal Enginner to escape poverty.He then takes up running and wins steeplechase event at Indian National Games for seven years in a row.Then he gives up running and joins army as Subedar and goes on to become a rebel who wrecks havoc in Chambal Valley.

Watch out for      based on real life character Paan Singh,this one looks a sure winner as Irfaan fits the bill and dependable director Tigmanshu who gave us truly spectacular 'Haasil' which made Irfaan into 'something'

Prediction            4.5/5 (watch out for Irfaan in a role of lifetime )

DELHI BELLY

Genre                  Comedy

Release Date       1st July,2011

Director              Abhinay Deo

Cast                    Imran Khan,Kunal Roy Kapoor,VirDas,Shenaz Treasurywala

Plot                     it is said to be a sex comedy which deals in a funny manner with typical sensibilities in Delhi about certain day to day things

Watch out for      produced by Aamir Khan Productions which means it will be different and meaningful for sure

Prediction            3.5/5 (watch it to relive realistic comedies of bygone era like' Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro' )

(watch out this space for second part of this series next week)