With the fantastic year 2023 approaching its end, it would be preposterous to expect year 2024 to be equally phenomenal. A year like 2023 comes once in a while! After all, it’s not every year that you have four blockbusters among the Top 5 all-time blockbusters releasing in one year!
Having said that, let’s understand what the trade is looking forward to in 2024.
Fighter: The teaser of Viacom18’s Fighter has already done the trick. The public is awaiting this actioner starring Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone and Anil Kapoor. Siddharth Anand, who delivered one of the biggest blockbusters of all time – Pathaan – in 2023, has directed this one too.
Main Atal Hoon: The teaser of Pankaj Tripathi starrer Main Atal Hoon has succeeded in generating public interest in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee biopic. Directed by Ravi Jadhav, it is slated for release in January.
Untitled Shahid-Kriti Starrer: The futuristic film from producer Dinesh Vijan is in the news but if it is still not making enough noise, it’s probably because it doesn’t have a title. Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon are the love birds of this love story directed by Amit Joshi and Aradhana Sah. Dharmendra is also in the cast — and you know, how Dharmendra killed it in Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani.
Yodha: Its release may have been pushed forward a couple of times but producer Karan Johar is hoping that hero Sidharth Malhotra delivers in cinemas with Yodha what he delivered on OTT with Johar’s Shershaah (2021). This action drama is directed by Sagar Ambre and Pushkar Ojha.
Azaad: Ajay Devgan’s nephew and Raveena Tandon’s daughter have been paired in this love story directed by Abhishek Kapoor. Ajay Devgan makes a long cameo appearance with nephew Aman Devgan and Raasha Thadani.
Ajay Devgan, Madhavan Starrer: Vikas Bahl has helmed the supernatural thriller starring Ajay Devgan and R. Madhavan. It is slated for release on 8th March.
Bastar – The Naxal Story: Producer Vipul Shah, director Sudipto Sen and leading lady Adah Sharma have teamed up once again for this film after the runaway success of The Kerala Story. The trade is hoping that it repeats the first film’s success story.
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha: Neeraj Pandey’s name as director inspires confidence of a different kind. And when the cast includes such names as Ajay Devgan, Tabu and Jimmy Shergill, the confidence is doubled. The film is due for release in April.
Metro… In Dino: Remember the super-hit songs of Metro? Anurag Basu returns with Metro… In Dino, a film which will showcase bitter-sweet tales of human relationships in contemporary times.
Bade Miyan Chote Miyan: Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff may both currently not be the public’s hot favourites, thanks to the under-performance of their recent releases, but you can be sure, this film, which brings the two together for the first time, will evoke excitement at the time of release. After all, it borrows its title from the 1998 film which starred Amitabh Bachchan and Govinda. Ali Abbas Zafar is directing the new film.
Maidaan: A biopic of football coach Syed Abdul Rahim, this film chronicles his life and journey from 1952 to 1962. Amit Sharma has directed Ajay Devgan in the film produced by Zee and Boney Kapoor.
Atlee’s Varun Dhawan Starrer: Still without a title, this film marks Varun Dhawan’s entry in the action genre. This will be Atlee’s next offering, after the blockbuster Jawan.
Chandu Champion: Kartik Aaryan leads the cast of this film being directed by Kabir Khan. A social drama, it is slated for release in the Eid weekend in June.
Singham Again: The third film in the Singham franchise seems to be three times bigger than the first two. The Rohit Shetty action extravaganza stars Ajay Devgan, Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Tiger Shroff and Arjun Kapoor! Its release has been announced for the Independence Day weekend.
Pushpa 2: The Rule: Sequel to Pushpa: The Rise – Part 1, this one is expected to take an earth-shattering opening in the Independence Day weekend simply because the public is waiting for it with bated breath. How can they forget what Allu Arjun did to the first part? Sukumar directs the sequel too.
Stree 2: If Stree terrified and tickled, Stree 2 can be expected to do that even more. Rajkumar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi and Aparshakti Khurana come together once again in the sequel being directed by Amar Kaushik.
Jigra: Vasan Bala directs Alia Bhatt in this Dharma Productions film. If Alia is heading the cast, the film must surely be having something sensational to offer.
Deva: Shahid Kapoor plays a police officer in this film being directed by Malayalam film director Roshan Andrews. Zee and Siddharth Roy Kapur produce the film.
Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3: Anees Bazmee and Kartik Aaryan team up together for the Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 sequel. Get ready to get scared and to laugh till you die!
Kantara: Chapter 1: Prequel to Kantara, the most unexpected hit of 2022, this one will also star Rishab Shetty.
Vicky-Tripti Starrer: Actor-filmmaker Anand Tiwari has directed Vicky Kaushal, Tripti Dimri and Ammy Virk in this film which is yet without a title. The romantic comedy is produced by Karan Johar and Amritpal Singh Bindra.
The Delhi Files: Even if Vivek Agnihotri’s The Vaccine War may have bombed, his next, The Delhi Files, can be expected to generate a lot of heat — and not only because the title reminds of his earlier super-hit, The Kashmir Files. The film tells the story of the Delhi riots of 2020, which erupted during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
C. Sankaran Nair’s Biopic: Akshay Kumar plays lawyer C. Sankaran Nair in this biopic being made against the backdrop of the Jallianwala Baug massacre. The film, being directed by Karan Singh Tyagi, is about the lawyer’s battle against the British Empire to uncover Punjab Lieutenant Governor Michael O’Dwyer’s role in the massacre. Insiders reveal, this could be one of Akshay’s biggest hits. The film, which also stars R. Madhavan in a key role, is being jointly produced by Karan Johar and Amritpal Singh Bindra.
Welcome To The Jungle: The multi-starrer being directed by Ahmed Khan promises to make the audience laugh their guts out. The third in the Welcome series, it stars Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Sunil Shetty, Arshad Warsi, Shreyas Taplade, Paresh Rawal and Johny Lever.
Sitare Zameen Par: After Taare Zameen Par, Aamir Khan is making Sitare Zameen Par which stars Aamir himself and Genelia Deshmukh. It is slated for release in the Christmas week of 2024.
Of course, the above list does not profess to be exhaustive. Several films, other than those mentioned above, could generate so much heat at the time of release that they might also be awaited with bated breath by the trade and the public alike.
