Fast Forward: 2009 in Bollywood
Ekdum kadak. Last year may have ended up being a little underwhelming ultimately atleast IMO, but 2009 looks to be one helluva exciting year at the movies. There are films from some of our best- Ashutosh Gowariker, Raju Hirani, Rakeysh Mehra and Vishal Bhardwaj to name a few- and what’s more, an astonishingly diverse mix of themes and genres. Take a look at a Bollywood lineup that should get you licking your chops:
3 Idiots
Raju Hirani is back in a much needed break from the Munnabhai series. And while ‘Why So Serious’ Mr. Khan as a student might be difficult to swallow, the director the rest of the cast (Sharman Joshi, Madhavan and Kareena Kapoor) is enough for us to wait eagerly for this one. In Raju Bhai we trust.
Chandni Chowk To China
Kung Fu meets Bollywood in Nikhil Advani’s zany looking film produced by Warner Bros., no less. It’s a total masala recipe, but with Advani (whose last film was s(a)lammed by the audience) at the helm, one hopes to see a film that’s perhaps a little more smart and polished than your average Akshay Kumar starrer. We’ll find out this week.
Dev D
I guess it’s a case of nuff said. Waiting eagerly, and hoping that it is accepted and becomes the success that banishes the smoke hanging like an albatross over Mr. Kashyap’s shoulders. Till then, trip on the superbly surreal soundscape created by Amit Trivedi- take a bow sir.
Dilli 6
(Yes, I refuse to call it by its new name). Masakali has taken our collective breath away, and among other things, one looks forward to Rakeysh Mehra and Binod Pradhan creating magic with Dilli once more, as much as Golden Globe winner Rahman’s (If he has it, why not flaunt it? Hehe!) music and Prasoon Joshi’s (co-)writing and lyrics.
Firaaq
I was lucky enough to watch it at the Kolkata Film festival. Nandita Das’ film with an excellent ensemble cast including Naseeruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal, Deepti Naval and Shahana Goswami is beyond cinema- it is a terrifying, heart wrenching mirror to the times we inhabit. Watch it.
Ishqiya
Vishal Bhardwaj’s erstwhile assistant Abhishek Choubey directs this interesting but so far low-profile film with Naseeruddin Shah, Vidya Balan and Arshad Warsi. Will the Bhardwaj brilliance rub off on Choubey? And will it be a much needed re-invention for the in-doldrums Balan, who apparently plays a foul-mouthed and sly seductress? Whatever it may be, the prospect of Vidya talking dirty is enough to make my mouth water. Bring it on.
Imitiaz Ali’s Next
The untitled venture is a love story with Saif Ali Khan (apparently playing a Sardar) and Deepika Padukone. With the unusual pair and Ali’s penchant for easy charm, I am waiting for Imitiaz Ali to surprise us again.
Kaminay
The master returns. Vishal Bhardwaj has so far seemed incapable of a single wrong step, and expectations here are difficult to curb. The film which stars Shahid Kapur (again, in a departure from his chocolate boy routine) and Priyanka Chopra is possibly the most exciting film on this list, and the first time after Makdee that Bhardwaj is working on an original (unadapted) script. By curious coincidence, also arriving this year is a film with a similarly ‘abusive’ title directed by someone both Bhardwaj and I hugely admire.
My Name Is Khan
Karan Johar continues his efforts to move towards more ‘mature’ and ‘complex’ themes, so what if his extra-marital saga was an epic misfire. This one is apparently set against the backdrop of terror with SRK playing Rizvan Khan, a character afflicted with Aspergers Syndrome (high functioning autism, as Johar earnestly explains on his blog). What is scary, despite reports of Johar casting Shabana Azmi to prove his seriousness, is the presence of Shibani Bhatija who has the dubious distinction of doling out 3 huge turkeys (Fanaa, KANK, Kidnap) one after the other. Whatever may be the case, we are ready to kill to watch SRK and Kajol reunite- though even crackling chemistry can’t save a soggy film.
Raavan
Mani Ratnam’s next, currently going by a rather intriguing name in media circles (apparently it’s not the official title) is supposedly a retelling of the Ramayan- only this one’s from Raavan’s perspective. Being shot in the remote jungles of Kerala, it sounds mysterious enough to make us stop yawning about an overdose of Abhiwarya. Besides, it also has an interesting supporting cast including southern star Vikram.
What’s Your Rashee?
If Gowariker succeeds in the seemingly M-O-N-U-M-E-N-T-A-L (no exaggeration here) task of making Harman Baweja act, he should be straight-away be given the Dada Saheb Phalke Award, if not a Padmashree. The odds against this one are huge: it stars the lead pair of Love Story 2050, and as Gowariker steps out of his usual mould, he will sorely lack the company of AR Rahman’s music which was the soul of his last 3 films. We are keeping our fingers crossed, but for this to work, Gowariker might as well begin consulting astrologists.
Also looking forward to: Tera Kya Hoga Johnny and Aur Devdas from Sudhir Mishra, Will The Real Nagesh Kukunoor Please Stand Up? (Aashayein & Tasveer AKA 8/10), Shoojit Sircar’s Shoebite, Zoya Akhtar’s Luck By Chance, What’s Up Sid? and many others.
Whew. Bollywood better not disappoint this time.
(What are your expectations from Hindi cinema this year and what are the films you’re awaiting with bated breath? Write in!)
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Well, there is Anjum Rizvi’s (wednesday) Fast forward:)
I’ve seen the promo and its rocking!!!
where is RGV’s Rann? I am looking forward to 3Idiots, Ravan, Firaq, Dev D & Delhi 6
May “my name is Khan” be a dud !!!
May Karan johar get flogged till he gets a brain transplant and directs another movie which will automatically be a superhit…..
KANK left me retching and so did Dostana…
SRK needs to divorce Karan pronto…
@Jitesh
Where can we get to see the promo for Fast forward ?
even tamil cinema has a lotta movies waiting in the anvil..2009 is surely gonna be a massive year of indian cinema!!
with bated breath??
huh marna hai kya……
am kinda looking forward to all of them, except firaaq…
though somehow 3 idiots being an adaptation from some chetan bhagat classic kinda turns me off!
though as the buzz goes, MR.hirani havent been too faithful to bhagat’s words.
oh ya am not particularly excited about MY NAME IS KHAN either, but will watch it nonetheless
3 idiots, devD, kaminey, Ravan for me
yaar anybody bring on some dope on raavana
mani saar amar rahein
Why dint we get to read more about Luck By Chance in this post?
No mention of Gulaal?
LOVE, POWER, REVOLUTION?????
My film for 2009.
Tigmashu Dhulia’s Shagird if it release.
Raj Kumar Santoshi’s Ajab Prem Ki Gajab Kahani
Prajash Jha’s Raajniti
and am surely waiting for RGV’s “Creature”!!!!! for whatever reasons
its KAMINEY and ISHQIYA for me…main toh titles pe hi bik gaya hoon. n there is no comparison for vishal.
raju will serve the same formula…msg in chocholate wrap…will watch anyway.
my name is khan…m waiting n wondering if kjo really can make this big political statement or will he turn it into race.
firaaq…kab kahan kaise ???!!
dilli 6….i also dont want to call it delhi!!
luck by chance…looks super joyride with lot of insider jokes. must watch.
ravaan..how can u ignore mani ratnam!
imitiaz ali’s next…he is on the same path as hirani…same formula filmmaking. n i think he is doing it again. can we pls hav sm new stories.
dev d…no!! huh ?? no…arre, hav already seen…heheheh! want to catch the final mix but fatass vasan has been ditching…yehi meri zindagi hai!
When is Shriram Raghavan’s “Agent Vinod” is coming??
Jabardast rahega!!!
I am waiting for Gulaal, Ishqiyaa, Kaminey, Rann, Dev D, Dilli 6.
My Name is Khan, the premise sounds good, provided KJO does not turn it into a Simran Meets Raj kinda love story, with that “Aaaaaa” voice in the background.
Luck By Chance seems really interesting too. All in all 2009 seems to be having a better line up compared to 2008.
shekhar, Agent Vinod starting in June 08. Should be GREAT !
@ JB – you missed on few more “Most Awaited” movies in 09.
1. Rajkumar Santoshi’s Ajab Prem ki Ghazab Kahani wid Ranbir K n Kat Kef. Its first ever romantic comedy by RS and a comedy after a long time. Last was Andaz Apna Apna.
2. Bolly-Holly movie “Kambakth Ishq” wid Akki, Kareena n Sylvestor Stallone.
3. Kabir Khan’s “New York” wid John Ab n Neil NM n Kat Kef…we still remember Kabir’s Kabul Express.
4. Anurag Basu’s “Kite” – Anurag’s return after metro n Hritik after Jodha Akbar wid a bhajan Maiya mori main nahin makhan khayo..oops I mean holly hottie Barbara Mori.
5. Sanju Baba’s Blue – wid Akki n Lara. Suppose to be (i repeat – suppose) Bolly’s most expensive movie. A must see because of its underwater shots n exotic locations. Looking for some nice actions from the action stars like Sanju n Akki.
6. Thn there are Bhatt’s Raaz – II, Priyadarshan’s Billu Barbar wid SRK….and few more.
I am sure there are many more which are not mentioned here….come on folks..dig more n post it here.
~Ashu Bhai MAPRM Wale.
Kaminey,Dev D,Luck by chance and Firaaq are in my list of must watch…
Isn’t Imtiyaz’s film titled ‘Rockstar’? Whose movie is this ‘Rockstar’ then??
And guys why are all of you pitted against poor KJo and SRK!! Agreed that we don’t like his ‘aaaaa’ kind of cinema but if earnings are anything to go by, many people do. Give the poor guy a chance! Afterall Raj Kumar Santoshi had made one of the greatest comedies of all times! So may be….
London Dreams – Ajay n Sallu…both of thm are playing a rockstar in tht…
Didn’t Vishal make one mistake (music of UMAH)? It sucked.. But I would ignore that as he is truly a ‘master’ as u said.
From ur list, waiting for all except CC2C.. added ones would be Kites and Blue.
3 Idiots it is – Aamir Rules!
I am not excited about any films in 2009 because in 2008 a few small films came unannounced and shook the entire foundation of film industry. I am hoping that the same will happen in 2009 as well. Case in point – Mithya, A Wednesday, Aamir, Dasvidaniya, OLLO – these weren’t in any big shot lists in the beginning of the year.
@Narendra: Not looking forward to Rann. Sounds too gimmicky, besides thoughts of seeing closeups of Politicians, News anchors with Govinda Govinda music and India TV commentary are scary for sure.
@Ashu: No offence, but most of the movies you mention look like a list of stuff I’m dreading this year.
@Oxy: I meant as Bhardwaj as director. I love the title song (sung by Bhardwaj) and ‘Saiyaan’ from UMAH though.
@Shekhar: Man, just the name of ‘Agent Vinod’ gets me excited! I doubt we’ll see it this year though. Raghavan was also supposed to make a film with John-Ash, wonder what’s up with that.
@Amrita: I’ll definitely catch Luck By Chance, though I find it hard to swallow Farhan as Bollywood struggler, and I don’t like the tendency of Akhtar’s films (produced/directed) to ’sanitise’ everything.
@Dr. Fu Man Chu: Gulaal ke omission ke liye maafi… Likhte likhte thak gaya tha kaafi.
Mithya, OLLO and Aamir were films I was looking fwd to since the start of 2008… Hadn’t heard of Dasvidaniya and A Wednesday then…
Do you know any such films this year? Mithya released early in 2008 so may be going in we knew about it. But Aamir I had no idea until I read about it here, and music review on Milliblog.
Your list is more or less I would find on IndiaFM, no offense meant to anyone. ;)
Hey Oxy,
please listen to Vishal’s title version in UMAH delicious is the only word I have for it. And Jee Le wasn’t bad either.
Looking forward to Mani Ratnam’s Ravana & Raj Kumar Hirani’s Idiots. These two movies seems best upcomings in this year.
i have seen the promo… just wow…
ya its taken completly from the european film you got served.. but still its a new opening of doors of bollywood…just wow..a newstyle of films which will be appreciated by us i mean the dancers…thanks MR Rizwi