Bollywood fans spoilt for choice
TRADITIONALLY, Bollywood reserves major releases for religious holiday periods, and the two big ones are Eid and Diwali. Superstar Salman Khan has owned this period over the last few years and this Eid sees the release of his latest film, Tubelight, to the delight of his fans.
The film reunites Salman with Kabir Khan, the director of his two previous films that were released at Eid. Bajrangi Baijaan and Sultan went on to become two of Salman’s biggest box-office successes.The film is released today.
Bollywood is all set to end the year with a bang. In December, Tiger Zindagi Hai is set for release. It’s the sequel to Ek Tha Tiger, the spy action thriller that was panned by critics but was a huge hit with audiences. The other Khans, Shahrukh and Aamir, also have films releasing this year.
Shahrukh has had some interesting releases over the last two years, but hasn’t enjoyed major box-office success since reuniting with actress Kajol for Dilwale in 2015. Last year, he tried something different with the film Fan, in which he played a crazed fan who was a doppelgänger of a famous actor, whom he played as well. He also acted in Dear Zindagi as a psychologist to a young woman, played by Alia Bhatt.
The-coming-of-age drama showed Khan working against type, but the film didn’t gel with audiences, despite good reviews.
This year he went back to his action formula with Raees, playing a Robin Hood type bootlegger. The film achieved moderate success.
Shahrukh’s latest pairs him opposite Anushka Sharma in a Bollywood take on the Hollywood hit, When Harry Met Sally. The film, Jab Harry Met Sejal, is set to release on August 4. It’s directed by Imtiaz Ali, who has a refreshing approach to film-making, quite different to conventional Bollywood melodramas. His previous hits include Jab We Met, Love Aaj Kal, Rockstar and Tamanna.
Aamir is still riding the wave of success after the monumental box office takings of his wrestling drama Dangal. The film has recently been released in China, dubbed into Chinese, and has taken the country by storm. It has made more money there than in India.
His latest film is Secret Superstar. Zaira Wasim, who played his daughter in Dangal, stars as a young girl who has a desire to be a singer, despite her abusive father’s objections. She receives guidance from an alcoholic divorcee. The film is scheduled to be released on August 13, during Diwali.
There are a host of others films on the way as well, including Mom, with Sri Devi, the darling of the 1980s and 1990s. She made a return to the big screen with the hit, English Vinglish, in 2012. Jagga Jasoos is an adventure romp in which the characters traverse vcontinents, including Africa. Ranbir Kapoor plays the title character and stars opposite Katrina Kaif, as intrepid sleuths tracing the whereabouts of Jagga’s detective father, who has gone missing. Parts of the film were shot in South Africa.
Both films will be released next month.
Bollywood fans will be spoilt for choice as we head into the second half of the year, with some exciting releases on the way.