Movies to look forward for in 2009
2009 has started on a sluggish note as far as the Hindi film industry is concerned. After 2 months we have yet to come across a certified hit. The mega hyped up movie of January, Chandni Chowk to China failed like one of those spurious Chinese products and didn’t make an impact at the box office. Raaz2, Dev.D and to a certain extent Luck By Chance & Delhi 6 have had an above average run at the turnstiles. While Dev.D received critical acclaim, Delhi 6 has been met with mixed critical and public reactions. While many have loved the movie almost the same number of people have also panned the film. In fact, I know of someone who hated the film so badly, that the heat of his hatred melted away the plastic Neel Kamal chair that he was sitting on!! (To know more details of this phenomenon, you will have to wait for my thesis that I’ll submitting for IG Nobel this year.)
So I thought I’ll just list down a few movies that I’ll be looking forward for during the rest of the year. The release months are sourced from Indiafm.com and are tentative in nature.
April
8X10 Tasveer
After the Bombay to Bangkok disaster, Nagesh Kukunoor is ready with his next offering with Akshay Kumar in the main lead. The trailer’s pretty interesting and seems to be about a guy who can enter a photo frame and find out what happened out there. An interesting premise and even though the serious intonation of Akshay Kumar (“I have a secret”) had me guffawing unintentionally, I am looking forward towards this movie.
May
New York
After Kabul Express, director Kabir Khan is back with a film that deals with racism and terrorism. It stars John Abraham and Neil Nitin Mukesh in the main leads.
June
Kaminey
Charlie: “Teen saal se maine uski PHAKAL bhi nahin dekhi…Kafam fe”
Sweety: “Toh maine kya RAPE kiya?”
Bhopu Bhau: “Arre Fa koh Fa nahin bolega toh kya LA bolega” (gesticulates with his hands for emphasis)
The above dialogues along with Sukhvinder Singh’s energetic rendition of Dhan Tadaaaan makes this hands down the most exciting trailer that I’ve seen in a long time. And when the project has Vishal Bharadwaj’s name attached to it, the excitement only quadruples. This is one movie that I’ll be seeing irrespective of what the reviewers or friends have to say.
Fould be Fimply Fuperb!!!
July
Aladin
Sujoy Ghosh’s ambitious project staring Ritesh Deshmukh and Amitabh Bachchan about Alladin and his friendly genie. This movie has got delayed so much that it seems that they were making since the days of the Arabian Nights. Normally a story on Genie and Alladin wouldn’t get me excited but Sujoy Ghosh’s name is what attracts me. I loved Jhankar Beats and am one of the very few who also loved Home Delivery. He has a quirky sense of humour and his movies so far has been well presented and shot. Here’s hoping that it releases this year.
October
Whats Your Rashee
Priyanka Chopra and Harman Baweja combination is enough to make anyone cringe due to Love Story 2050. But when the movie also has the combination of Ashutosh Gowrikar and UTV, the expectations rises and it enters the must watch category this year.
December
3 Idiots
RajKumar Hirani and Aamir Khan is a mouth watering combination that can’t be ignored at any cost. Initially I was skeptical of this movie because it was announced that it’s based on Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat. Now the clarity comes that the story, even though set in a campus, is an original story and not based on Five Point. Aamir Khan has been having amazing Decembers two years in a row. Here’s hoping that he gets an hatrick through 3 Idiots.
Special Mentions
These are some of the movies that are slated to release in 2009, but their release dates haven’t been locked on.
Raavan(tentative title)
Directed by Mani Rathnam.
This statement is enough for me to watch the movie that’s directed by a guy whose worst movie will still be better than many of his contemporaries’ best.
My Name Is Khan
A Karan Johar film attracts audiences in a way that a pile of shit would attract a swarm of flies. And if you add SRK and Kajol in the equation, it seems to be a sure shot hit even before the camera starts rolling. Personally I have had mixed reactions with KJo flicks. When I saw Kuch Kuch Hota Hai in cable, I loved the movie and resolved to watch all his future movies in theaters. The K3G happened which left me in such a daze that I swore not to spend money on KJo flicks in the future. But Kal Ho Na Ho (yeah I know it’s not directed by him, but it does have his stamp on it) impressed me so much that I watched KANK on the second day of the release ignoring all the critics and it left a bitter a taste in my mouth. Now with his latest flick I really don’t know what to expect but I just hope that he manages to entertain us like how KKHH and Kal Ho Na Ho did.
Blue
A few months earlier, there was an article in Economic Times that talked about a movie that was being helmed by a new comer and was being shot abroad. The article talked about the executives of the production house green signaling every increase in the budget without knowing what exactly was being shot and what the product was looking like. The article didn’t name any names, but all indications point out to Blue, an action packed thriller that stars Sanjay Dutt and Akshay Kumar directed by newcomer Anthony D’Souza. There were also reports that this movie had already spent over 100 crores and one schedule was still pending to be shot.
A HUNDRED CRORES!!!!!
And that’s not even taking into account the promotional budget. Either the movie has a mind blowing Dhasu script or Ashtavinayak Productions have balls made of Stainless steel. Ill just go to see yeh sau crore kis cheez pe karch hue hai.
Kites
After a long hiatus, Hrithik Roshan will be seen in a movie that’s directed by Anurag Basu and produced by FilmKraft. Not much is known about the film except that it’s about a dance instructor (Hrithik) whose first love dies and he finds solace in another dame.
Do share with us the movies that you are looking forward to in the year 2009 and here’s wishing that the film industry doesn’t have to wait for the entire year to get their mega hits like 2008.
Tags: 3 Idiots, 8X10 Tasveer, Aladin, Blue, Bollywood, Chandni Chowk to China, Delhi 6, Dev.D, Hrithik Roshan, Kaminey, Kites, Mani Rathnam, Movie Previews, New York, Raavan, Raaz2, vishal bharadwaj
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
Paaannnchhhhh kahan gayi???!!!
I am eagerly waiting for kaminey.. its going to be pulp!!!
yaar 8 X 10 looks so inspired by ‘the butterfly effect 2′. as it is the original was shit, i havent kept my expectations high for that one.
from the list, kameeney, 3 idiots and raavan are the ones i am excited about. and then there is paanch too.
Imtiaz Ali Love Aaj Kal on 26th June
Faale, great post!
And yes, its HUrman Baweja, not Harman Baweja. atyachari, durachari, bol sorry!
I am looking forward to “Straight” directed by Parvati Balagopalan.I really loved her earlier movie – Rules-Pyar ka superhit formula.
With Vinay Pathak in lead, I am sure it will be a rocking movie!
RGV’s Rann..
actually it should be hormone baweja. . .when is don 2 releasing
What a wonderful list. I am marking my social calendar with each and every one of those films! I have to second “S” and say I am looking forward to the new Imtiaz Ali with more than breathtaking anticipation…
I am looking forward to Wake Up Sid.The Ranbir Kapoor-Konkona combo plus the fact it is produced by Karan Johar makes it one of the most anticipated films of the year.Even Madhur’s Jail sounds good.And how can you ignore a Sudhir Mishra film?Hope Tera kya hoga Johnny with Neil Mukesh lives up to the expectations.In fact Neil Mukesh has a great line up of films this year with Kabir Khan’s New York releasing too.
New York: It somehow makes me feel that the movie will be inspired by “In the Name of the Father”. Should be fun.
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Kaminey will be interesting, so will be Gulaal.
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Raashee business, I don’t know what the future foretells.
3 Idiots, hmm, I will wait before I speak instead of looking like one eventually.
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I think the second half of 2009 is where the major action lies.
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Abhay, Don 2 is in 2010.
wanted:dead or alive has a good story……im concerned about its execution
nandita das’ firaaq would also be intersting.
by the way kites is a remake of woody allen’s Match Point
1. 3 Idiots
2. Raavan
3. What’s your Rashee
4. Kites
5. Ajab Prem Ki Gajab Kahani
6. Blue
7. Love Aaj Kal
8. Delhi Belly
9. Dhobi Ghat
10. 8'—10 Tasveer
11. Kaminey
12. Ishqiyaan
13. Rensil DeSilva’s debut
14. Paanch
15. Rann
@ All DURACHARIS & ATYAAAACHARIS,
It’s HARMAN “S” BAWEJA! :P
When is Striker releasing directed by fav, Chandan Arora?
Really hoping these films live up to expectations. Sudhir, I am with you on all the films you’ve listed (except for Raavan… not sure why, but I got a bad feeling about that one…).
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Oh, and “Kites” looked a lot more interesting before your synopsis… dance instructor ka doosra pyar? Ugh! Yaar I saw some shot of Hritik jumping off some shed and thought it was a some sort of Romantic thriller.
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Love Aaj Kal I’m really looking forward too. I heard its crazy! And who won’t be excited about Imtiaz Ali and Saif Ali Khan coming together?
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I’ve read lots about “What’s Your Rashee”… isn’t it based on a novel or something? Anyways, the fact that Ashutosh Gowarikar is directing a romantic comedy is interesting enough.
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And of course Kaminaay is the #1 film I’m looking forward to. That’s the best trailer I’ve seen in a long time!
@ Sudhir – Enough of most awaited movie posts on PFC…JB has already written a post on fast fwd 2009 in Jan 09. There was nothing new in ur post…absolute nothing.
And above all…you have just picked up your favourite from the list by Taran adarsh…and nothing is been value added in ur post..
There is more to look fwd in 2009…like 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. And Bolly-Holly movie “Kambakth Ishq” wid Akki, Kareena n Sylvestor Stallone….and some more like Firaaq, Vinay Pathak’s Straight, Neil NM and Bip’s Aa dekhen zara, RGV’s Agyaat, Aage se right, peter gaya kaam se, Ket Kaif’s Rajniti etc etc…
~Ashu Bhai MAPRM Wale
Delhi 6 and Luck by chance are flops they did not have even decent opening weekends at BO.
Gulaal
3 Idiots
Robot/Enithiram(Rajnikanth)
Ravaan
Aagyat
Rann
Tasveer
Love Kal Aaj Kal
Rajneeti
London Dreams
Pan Singh Tomar
Kambhakt Ishq
Tera Kya Hoga Jhonny
@Magik: LOL :D
Kaminey is gonna b one hell of a fun ride…hopefully!
achcha hai, achcha hai..mazaa aayegaa, achchca hai!!
Bharat Bhushan, yeah a ‘Rules’ fan here too!
Well, Meera Vasudevan was very enjoyable in it and had a Madhuri quality.
So does ‘Straight’ feature Meera again?
‘Love Aaj Kal’ definitely on my list!
Jibin, ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’ has a good story??!
It’s one of the most annoying Tamil/Telugu films i’ve seen!
Damn ‘Pokiri’!
Dikshit? ‘Kites’ is ‘Matchpoint’?!
Really?? How?
Don’t tell me that Kangna is the poor ol’ cheated girl once AGAIN?!
The story line of kites reminds me of Kamal Haasan’s movie called Punnagai mannan which was directed by K Balachander. I am not comparing or accusing, but just on reading your post it clicked me somewhere. But we need to wait and watch. Hrithik has got a potential but only a few have used his talent efficiently
Anand, GREAT!!
So ‘if’ it is ‘Punnagai…’ then no doubt Kangna will play the role of the suicidal girl!
AGAIN!!!
Bachaaaaaooooo!
kites is indianised match point…DON 2 releasing only by diwali 2010…
@Anand Same thought.. It is Punnagai Mannan. When i first read the post yesterday i got the same thought. I wanted to comment but i didnt.
And Enthiran is releasing mid 2010.
The above list seems to be complete Sudhir, Nice Post and well written.
I place my money on the following films.
1. My Name is Khan- This will be a helluva movie guys. Take my bet!!! It may tank at the box office but none the less everyone would like to pat Karan Johar for making a movie as different as this and Sudhir dont expect KHNH or KKHH. Its not a candyfloss film.
2. Hook Ya Crook – I dont believe this, but I gotta watch it to believe that a David Dhawan movie, produced by UTV and the genre is hold your breath and slap yourself hard…. Comedy / Thriller / Drama / Romance / Sports … my head is already spinning that David Dhawan with so many genre. But still gotta watch it.
3. Peter Gaya Kaam se- Rajeev Khandelwal after Aamir, how can anyone miss it.
4. Rajniti- I am not sure if it releases this year, but for sure an interesting watch with Arjun, Ranbir, Ajay, Nana, Manoj and surprise Katrina Kaif in a Prakash Jha movie. Cant wait to watch.
5. Luck- If anyone has balls to experiment than go for Luck, Sanjay Dutt, Imraan Khan have already given me enough but still if somebody wants to dare, then try your Luck!!
luck-No i do not have balls for that remember last time sanjay dutt and Imran Khan came together Kidnap.
Director Soham Shah who gave us Kaal the horror movie.The only gthing people like was opening title song.
Kites looking forward for that.
just a random list.
1. 3 idiots
2. kites
3. my name is khan
4. what’s your rashee?
5. mr & mrs khannna
6. wanted
7. rann
8. agyaat
9. aashayein
10. tasveer 8 x 10
11. rajniti
12. blue
13. johnny mastana
14. kambakht ishQ
15. paanch (IF, IF, IF)
16. aur devdas
17. wake up sid
18. UDAY CHOPRAS NTH RELAUNCH
19. 1800-love
20. new york
21. PAA
22. aa dekhe zara
23. love aaj kal
24. dulha mil gaya
25. hook ya crook
26. straight
27. veer (doubts abt 2009)
28. once upon a time in bombay
29. dobhi ghat
30. delhi belly
31. its my life
32. jail
33.
1. Gulaal
2. Paanch
3. Kaminay
4. New York
a very short list for me..
Kieslowski’s ‘Blue’ was a amazing watch.. won’t be dealing with any other ‘blues’ ;-)
i am waitin for Aladin .sanju as a villian is always a treat to watch…hope it releases this year