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2022 was a lukewarm year for the Hindi film industry. Cinephiles continued to be reluctant to spend time, effort, and money on movies in theatres, getting more selective than ever in an age upended by the streaming revolution.
As a result, an interesting array of theatrical releases have buoyed to the top as the year nears the end. The five highest-grossers of 2022 include the first part of an overblown, hyper-marketed mythical superhero franchise film, the poetic telling of a fabled brothel madam’s coming into her own, a hate-fest about a shameful communal exodus to fuel anger, and two underwhelming sequels of much-loved originals — one a horror comedy, the other a family thriller.
Meanwhile, some of the most interesting, original films got released exclusively on streaming and bowled the audience over with what they had to say and how they said it. But this is not a story about them. This is about looking ahead at the coming year with our chins up and hearts fluttering, hoping that theatres would find their rightful audience sooner than later. This is about the films that we hope will make it happen. Some of the much-anticipated Hindi movies are slated to release in the first quarter of 2023. The line-up makes me sanguine. I hope these films translate expectations into a memorable movie-watching experience and get the box office rolling. It is about time.
Kuttey
Aasmaan Bhardwaj’s directorial debut, Kuttey boasts a stellar cast. Arjun Kapoor, Tabu, Naseeruddin Shah, Radhika Madan, Konkona Sen Sharma, and Kumud Mishra star in this black comedy that revolves around three stray gangs all eyeing a van transporting millions of moolah on the outskirts of Mumbai one rainy night. Aasmaan deploys the best men across all fronts—dialogue, additional screenplay, music, and background score are by his father Vishal Bhardwaj, lyrics are by Gulzar, and Farhad Ahmed Dehlvi serves as the director of photography. Raw, rustic, and reeking of gunpowder, Kuttey is slated to release on January 13.
Pathaan
The stakes are huge on this one. It marks Shah Rukh Khan’s return to films after a four-year hiatus following the box-office bombing of his last film, Aanand L Rai’s Zero, which also starred Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif. An action thriller, Pathaan is directed by Siddharth Anand, whose last film War was a major blockbuster that reinstated Hrithik Roshan back to glory. Also starring Deepika Padukone and John Abraham in key roles, Pathaan will release on January 25, hoping to make the most of the Republic Day weekend. Salman Khan and Hrithik are reported to make cameos in the film since Yash Raj Films is marketing Pathaan as the newest addition to its spyverse, building on War and the Tiger film franchise.
Shehzada
It is the Hindi remake of the 2020 Telugu musical blockbuster Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo. Directed by Trivikram Srinivas, the original starred Allu Arjun in the lead role. Kartik Aaryan reprises the Telugu superstar’s character Bantu in the remake directed by Rohit Dhawan. It is the story of two infants from vastly different economic backgrounds getting mixed up during birth and the complexities that ensue because of it. Written by Hussain Dalal, Shehzada also has Kriti Sanon, Paresh Rawal, and Manisha Koirala. After his last film Freddy got panned by critics, Kartik needs Shehzada to do well at the box office to sustain his stardom. It will release on February 10.
Selfiee
It’s raining Hindi remakes of south-Indian blockbusters. Selfiee is the second to release within a fortnight. It’s director Raj Mehta’s take on the 2019 superhit Malayalam comedy Driving Licence, starring Prithviraj Sukumaran and Suraj Venjaramoodu in lead roles. Akshay Kumar headlines this reboot, with Emraan Hashmi, Nushrat Bharucha, and Diana Penty. Selfiee is expected to be a fun and colourful joyride, a lot like Raj’s previous outing Good Newwz. If it works like Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor, Diljit Dosanjh, and Kiara Avani’s 2019 film around pregnancy did, Selfiee could revive the careers of Emraan Hashmi and Diana Penty. Produced by Dharma Productions, it will release on February 24.
Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar
The much-anticipated Luv Ranjan film comes five years after his last directorial Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety stormed the box office and made Kartik Aryan Hindi cinema’s newest superstar. It pairs Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor for the first time as romantic leads and is also reported to feature Dimple Kapadia and Boney Kapoor (in his acting debut). It could very well be one of the last romcoms featuring Ranbir since he recently said in an interview that he’s grown too old to be making them anymore. Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar is eying a festival release around Holi on March 8.
Bholaa
2022 has been a mixed bag for Ajay Devgn. He featured in stellar cameos in two of the year’s most loved films — Gangubai Kathiawadi and RRR. However, his directorial Runway 34 could not take off at the box office. He followed it up with a disaster much worse called Thank God. Mercifully, Drishyam 2 came soon after, rounding off the year for him on a high.
With Bholaa, he returns as the actor-director again. The official remake of the 2019 Tamil superhit Kaithi, the neo-noir action thriller stars Tabu alongside him. It’d be fascinating to see what he’s done with Lokesh Kanagaraj’s celebrated blockbuster. Bholaa will release on March 30.
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