RRR: The new year opens with SS. Rajamouli’sTelugu period action drama. This fictional story that dates back to 1920, revolves around two Indian revolutionaries, Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan) and Komaram Bheem (NT Rama Rao, Junior), who fought the British and the Nizams. Made on a reported budget of Rs 400 crore, RRR also stars Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgn and Shriya Saran among others.
Right from its introduction scene with Ram Charan in a crowd of 2,000 plus and NTR Jr. running through the jungles of Bulgari, the film looks to recreate the magic of Rajamouli’s Baahubali series.
Explodes in multiple languages on January 7.
RADHE SHYAM: A week after RRR, on Sankranti, January 14, Prabhas arrives with the first of his three pan-India projects in 2022. This period sci-fi fantasy romance has Pooja Hegde opposite him, along with Murali Sharma, Sachin Kedekar and Bhagyashree among others.
Shot in Hyderabad, Georgia and Turin in Italy, Radhe Shyam is different from Prabhas’s usual films in that it is an out-and-out love story that unfolds in Europe. Shot simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu, it will also be released in Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, along with Japanese and Chinese because, as Pooja says, Prabhas is an “international” star.
PRITHVIRAJ: National Award winner Chadrapraksh Dwivedi directs this action-packed historical drama based on medieval poet Chand Bardai’s epic Brajbhasha poem, Prithviraj Raso.Akshay Kumar playsthe Rajut ruler of the Chahamana dynasty, Prithviraj Chauhan, who valiantly foiled the early invasions of Muhammad of Ghor (enacted by Manav Vij) before being defeated in the second battle of Tarain in 1192.
Former Miss World Manushi Chhillar debuts as Princess Sanyogita. Ashutosh Rana plays her father Jaichand against whose wishes she elopes with Prithviraj from her swayamvar, following which, according to Bardai’s poem, he aligned with the foreign Ghurids to bring about his son-in-law’s downfall, his name becoming synonymous with the word traitor.
Prithviraj arrives on the Republic Day weekend on January 21.
GANGUBAI KATHIAWADI: Drawn from a chapter in S. Hussain Zaidi’s bestseller, Mafia Queens of Mumbai,Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s 10th film in 25 years revolves around Ganga from Kathiawad who elopes with her lover and comes to Mumbai where he sell her into prostitution for just Rs 500. After being ravaged and savaged by several men, and one in particular, Gangu seeks out underworld don Karim Lala who assures her of his protection as she becomes his rakhi sister.
Thereafter, Gangu takes it upon herself to protect the sex workers in Mumbai’s red-light area, even going to the Prime Minister to stop Kamatipura from being demoloished. She is still enshrined there and in the hearts of these hapless women, some of whom got their lives back thanks to her.
Alia Bhatt traces the journey of the real-life character from the age of 17 to 70 in this biographical period crime drama. Ajay Devgn plays Karim Lala. The film will have its world premiere at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival on February 10 and opens in the theatres on February 18.
SHAMSHERA: After Agneepath, director Karan Malhotra goes back to the 1800 to tell a story (by Aditya Chopra) of heroism, about a dacoit tribe fighting for its rights and independence against the ruling British. Ranbir Kapoor reportedly plays both Shamshera and his son Balli. Vaani Kapoor is a travelling performer while Sanjay Dutt is the antagonist, Shuddh Singh.
The action drama which has been in the making since December 2018, delayed by the pandemic, unveils on March 18.
SALAAR: Shot simultaneously in Telugu and Kannada—it marks Prabhas’s Kannada debut—the ambitious period action drama will be dubbed in Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam. Salaar is the colloquial word for commander-in-chief and will have the Baahubali actor at his violent best.
Written and directed by Prashanth Neel, it is one of the most costliest Indian films. Shruti Haasan who is opposite Prabhas admits that she has been on many film sets, but when she walked into this one, she went, “Wow!”
The film opens on April 14.
LAAL SINGH CHADDHA: Atul Kulkarni wrote the script a decade ago. It took Aamir Khan a couple of years to give his nod to it. Getting the remake rights from Paramount Studio, since the comedy-drama is based on the 1996 American film Forrest Gump, took another seven-eight years. Laal Singh Chaddha took off in October 2019, but was grounded by Covibd in March 2020, resuming again in September. It will be released on April 14.
The journey of an autistic man across the country, a spectator to several historical events, was shot in Delhi, Mumba, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Thekkumbhagam, Changanassery and Kappil in Kerala, Jaisalmer, Goa , Ladakh, Srinagar among others. It has guest appearances by Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Kajol and Karisma Kapoor.
K.G.F: CHAPTER 2: The period action drama is the most expensive Kannada film, which will also release in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam also on April 14. Set in the Kolar Gold Fields, it was written as a two-part series by director Prashanth Neel. After the unprecedented success of Chapter 1 in 2018, Sanjay Dutt has been roped in to play the bad man Adheera and Raveena Tandon as Prime Minister Ramika Sen to increase its pan-India reach. Yash returns in the lead as Rocky with Srinidhi Shety as his lady love. Prakash Raj, Ananth Nag and Achyunth Kumar reprise their roles from the original.
Part one was one of the first Kannada films to reach the Rs 100 crore mark. Yash assures that Chapter 2 will be a bigger and better cinematic experience.
MAIDAAN: After the quirky family drama on unplanned parental pregnancy, Badhaai Ho, Amit Ravindranath Sharma returns with a sports drama, Maidaan, on the golden years of Indian football. Ajay Devgn plays Syed Abdul Rahim, Indian team’s coach and manager from 1950 to the time of his death in ’63.
National Award winner Priyamani as his wife with Gajraj Rao and Boman Irani have other significant roles. Real football players from Japan, South Korea, France and Thailand will also be seen in the film which releases on June 3.
CIRKUS: Set in the ’60s, Rohit Shetty’s laugh riot is an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors with Ranveer Singh in his first double role. Pooja Hedge and Jacqueline Fernandez are opposite him.
Gearing up for a July 15 opening, it has Deepika Padukone in a special dance number and a few scenes. Ajay Devgn is also reportedly making a guest appearance in a song.
ADIPURUSH: The epic mythological based on the Ramayan has Om Raut at the helm. Shot simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu, this is the third Prabhas starrer. He plays Ram and Kriti Sanon is Sita. Saif Ali Khan who impressed as the antagonist Udaybhan Singh Rathore in Om Raut’s 2020 film, Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, returns as Lankesh.
Being touted as one of the most expensive Indian films, Adipurush was shot in just 103 days given its scale, the on-going pandemic and a fire that ravaged the sets. Dubbed in Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada, it’s poised for an Independence Day release on August 11.
BRAHMASTRA: One of the costliest Hindi films with a reported landing cost of Rs 300 crore, this superhero fantasy adventure has Ranbir Kapoor as Shiva who can emit fire from his hands and Alia Bhatt—a first time pairing—as his lady love Isha.
Nagarjuna Akkineni is an archeologist on an expedition to restore a temple while Amitabh Bachchan is Shiva’s guru. Mouni Roy and wrestler Saurav Gurjar are the villians of the piece that also features Dimple Kapadia and has Shah Rukh Khan in a cameo.
The Ayan Mukherji was planned as a vfx-heavy trilogy. Part 1 has been shot in London, Edinburgh, New York, as well as Bulgaria and India. Brahmastra releases in Hindi and the four South languages on September 9, in 3D and IMAX 3D as well.
