20 Films to Watch Out For in 2017

2016 was a mixed year for cinema as far as Hindi films are concerned. While we saw lot of quality cinema addressing a plethora of themes, many of the so called big films didn’t meet expectations. The year started with the gripping evacuation drama Airlift followed by the gusty tale of real life heroism in the face of terror with Neerja, progressed with perhaps the most sensitive portrayal of homosexuality in Hindi films with Aligarh, showed that family dramas have also come of age in Bollywood with Kapoor & Sons and followed up with humane story of a mother-daughter with Neel Battey Sannata. The year also broke the stereotypical portrayal of Punjab and showed us the pitch dark side of drug abuse in the state in Udta Punjab, taught us that a girl’s no is always NO in Pink, gave us a proper cricket biopic befitting a legend like M S Dhoni, told us that it is absolutely cool to visit a therapist in Dear Zindagi and ended with perhaps the best sports biopic in the history of Indian cinema with Dangal. I haven’t watched Waiting, Phobia and Parched yet but have heard great stuff about them and plan to catch these films soon.

While these were the landmark films for me this year, we also saw some colossal disappointments like Fan, Mohenjodaro and Shivaay. These films could have been possible gamechangers for Hindi cinema but sadly they turned out to be squandered opportunity despite the best of intention of the makers. We also saw Sultan, the customary Salman Khan blockbuster of the year, which was not a great movie by any means but one of the most entertaining one of the year for sure. The year also saw the resurgence of Ranbir Kapoor with Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, a confused tearjerker whose only redeeming features were Kapoor’s brilliant performance and Pritam’s winning soundtrack.

However, we have a pretty impressive lineup of movies in 2017 catering to a wide range of genres. Here are some of the films which I am really excited about in 2017. Some of these films were included in my 2016 list as well but then they got postponed for some reason. I am hoping that they will finally release this year so that I don’t have to include them in my 2018 list!

1. A Death in the Gunj

        Director- Konkona Sen Sharma

        Cast- Kalki Koechlin, Vikrant Massey, Ranvir Shorey, Gulshan Devaiah, Tilottoma   Shome, Om Puri,Tanuja, Jim Sarbh

An Anglo-Indian town in the 1970’s. A family get together. Planchette. A death. If this already sounds intriguing then the fact that this movie is the directorial debut of Konkona Sen Sharma, one of the best actresses of this generation will take the curiosity level higher. Already winning a lot of praise in film festivals across the globe, this film has one of the most talented ensembles in recent times. This might be one stand out film this year and expectations will be no less from Aparna Sen’s daughter.

2. Haraamkhor

    Director- Shlok Sharma

    Cast- Nawazuddin Siddique, Shweta Tripathi

Another festival favourite, this film is finally getting its theatrical release in India after a lot of controversy. This film co-produced by Anurag Kashyap is the story of an illicit love affair between a teacher and his student. Anything starring Nawazuddin Siddique is good enough for me and the casting of Shweta Tripathi, the brilliant actress from Masaan is just like the icing on the cake.

3. Raees

    Director- Rahul Dholakia

   Cast- Shah Rukh Khan, Nawazuddin Siddique, Mahira Khan, Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub, Atul Kulkarni

While many people had a problem with masala laden trailer of the movie, I think that this is a nice throwback to the kind of action movies we grew up watching. Riveting narrative, witty punchlines and hard hitting action makes the gangster genre a personal favourite and when you have a face-off between a badass SRK and an intense Nawazuddin in the offing, then nothing like it. There might be a Once Upon a Time in Mumbai feel to the trailer, but that is a good thing for me because I loved OUATIM.

4. Jolly LLB 2

   Director- Subhash Kapoor

  Cast- Akshay Kumar, Huma Qureshi, Annu Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla, Kumud Mishra

Subhash Kapoor had raised our expectations with his incisive courtroom drama Jolly LLB after delivering the delightful Phas Gaye re Obama. And now he has teamed up with Akshay Kumar, who is perhaps in the form of his life for the sequel of Jolly LLB. The trailer looks more silly than witty and though it claims to be inspired from a true incident, we don’t know which incident it might be based on. However, Kumar seems to have a blast in the film and if Kapoor gets his act right, we might be having a compelling film.

5. Jagga Jasoos

     Director- Anurag Basu

     Cast- Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kair, Saswata Chatterjee, Saurabh Shukla

When Tintin’s exuberance is merged with Barfi’s charm in a Wes Anderson setting with little bit of Harry Potter sprinkled on it, Jagga Jasoos is what we get! Four years in the making, this film is the most ambitious screen outing of Ranbir Kapoor. The trailer looks intriguing and fun at the same time and looks like Basu might be having another winner in his hand after Barfi. For me, a big attraction will be the presence of Saswata Chatterjee, possibly the best actor in Bengal today in his second Hindi film after Kahaani.

6. Rangoon

       Director- Vishal Bhardwaj

      Cast- Saif Ali Khan, Shahid Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut

The word magnum opus is often loosely used in Bollywood, but if the grapevine about Vishal Bhardwaj’s next is true, then this can be called a bonafide magnum opus. A love triangle set during World War II, the scale of this film makes it irresistible for movie buffs. Vishal Bhardwaj can be credited for unleashing the actor inside the romantic stars called Saif Ali Khan and Shahid Kapoor and the fact that he has cast them together along with Kangana Ranaut makes Rangoon doubly interesting. For us, the fact that this film has been shot extensively at Assam and Arunachal Pradesh only adds to the excitement.

 

7. Sarkar 3

     Director- Ram Gopal Verma

    Cast- Amitabh Bachchan, Jackie Shroff, Manoj Bajpayee, Yami Gautam, Ronit Roy, Amit  Sadh

Out of the many Bollywood adaptation of The Godfather, I personally think that Sarkar was by far the best. Though Ram Gopal Varma’s credibility as a filmmaker has plummeted in the last decade, we can hope that he will redeem himself with this movie. For starters, he has got his cast right. Also, despite the presence of the stalwarts in the cast, I think Yami Gautam might be the scene stealer in this one, provided she doesn’t die in this one!

 

8. Begum Jaan

    Director- Srijit Mukherjee

   Cast- Vidya Balan, Naseeruddin Shah, Gauhar Khan, Ila Arun, Pallavi Sharda, Chunky Pandey

After the successful transition of Aniruddha Roy Choudhury in Hind cinema with Pink, 2017 will see another ace Bengali filmmaker Srijit Mukherjee crossing over to Bollywood. The two time National Award winning director will be remaking his own Bengali film Rajkahini. Rajkahini was a partition drama about a brothel which falls right on the border of India and Pakistan and when the state tries to evict them from that place, the inmates wage a valiant war. Now, Vidya Balan has been cast in the title role of the brothel madam which was immortalized by Rituparna Sengupta in the original. Apart from that, the brilliant supporting cast and Anu Malik’s music might be the highlights of this film.

 

9. Baahubali- The Conclusion

     Director- S S Rajamouli

     Cast- Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Tamannah, Anushka Shetty, Ramya Krishnan, Sathyaraj, Nasser

Despite being a South Indian film, Baahubali had taken the entire nation by strong and that was possible only because the spectacular VFX of the movie was backed by solid content. With the who’s who of Telugu and Tamil cinema in the cast, this sequel might be another cinematic milestone in India. And above all, who won’t be interested to know why Kattappa killed Baahubali. Jai Maahishmati!

 

10. Toilet-Ek Prem Katha

          Director- Shree Narayan Singh

         Cast- Akshay Kumar, Bhumi Pednekar, Anupam Kher

With a quirky name like this, audience is bound to be interested in this satirical take on Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. As far as I have heard, Akshay Kumar runs a pay and use public toilet in the movie while Bhumi plays a simple slum girl. Kumar had a great 2016 and the next year might very well belong to him. It would also be treat to watch Pednekar after her wonderful debut in Dum Lagaa Ke Haisha.

 

11. Tubelight

        Director- Kabir Khan

       Cast- Salman Khan, Sohail Khan, Zhu Zhu, Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub, Om Puri

Thanks to his journalistic background, Kabir Khan manages to seamlessly blend entertainment with subjects having strong political undertone. He has perhaps used the larger than life persona of Salman Khan to the best effect and testimony to this is their highly acclaimed past collaborations like Ek Tha Tiger and Bajrangi Bhaijaan. This movie which tells the story of a simpleton with a heart of gold in the backdrop of the Sino-Indian war in 1962 will make the trilogy of the Khan duo complete. The casting of Chinese actress Zhu Zhu will be an added attraction and the lovers of the Netflix series Marco Polo will vouch for her talent.

 

 

12. Chef

         Director- Raja Krishna Menon

        Cast- Saif Ali Khan, Shobita Dhulipala, Padmapriya

Saif Ali Khan didn’t have any release in 2016 and so he will leave no stones unturned to compensate for it in 2017. After Vishal Bhardwaj’s Rangoon, he will collaborate with Airlift director Raja Krishna Menon for the remake of Jon Favreau’s iconic movie Chef. The orginal which starred Jon Favreau himself in the lead role was the story a chef setting up a food truck in Miami and reconnecting with his close ones. Menon has an interesting cast comprising of talented actresses like Sobhita Dhulipala and Padmapriya at his disposal and this might be a dark horse among films next year. Also, after Airlift, Menon will be again collaborating with Ritesh Shah for this film, who is arguably the best writer in Hindi cinema today.

13.  Secret Superstar

          Director- Advait Chandan

         Cast- Aamir Khan, Zaira Wasim

This will be the only screen outing of Aamir Khan this year and considering the man’s credibility, I will not think twice before watching the film. The film is about a young Muslim girl harbouring the dream of becoming a singer but her conservative father is against it. Zaira Wasim, the Kashmiri girl who played the younger version of Geeta Phogat in Dangal is playing the lead and she can be called as quite a find for Aamir Khan productions. Aamir possibly plays the music mentor of the girl and if his ten second appearance in the first teaser is any indication, he might be seen in his most fun role in a long time.

14. Jab Harry Met Sejal

          Director- Imtiaz Ali

          Cast- Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Chandan Roy Sanyal

With his distinct cinematic language, Imtiaz Ali has carved a niche in the Hindi film industry. His characters have this unique timeless appeal and yet today’s audience can relate to them. So, when he collaborates with the greatest proponent of on-screen romance of our times, results are bound to be electric. While the story of a Gujarati girl meeting a travel guide in Europe in search of her lost wedding ring is novel, Imtiaz’s treatment and choice of locations might make the cinematic experience more rewarding.

 

15. Simran

         Director- Hansal Mehta

        Cast- Kangana Ranaut

After delivering movies like Shahid and Aligarh, Hansal Mehta has emerged as one of the best filmmakers in the country. And when he collaborates with three time National Award winner Kangana Ranaut, we can expect fireworks on screen. The quirky premise of a Gujarat housewife bored with her life going on a bank-looting spree in Chicago is intriguing enough and be assured about Mehta extracting the best out of the Queen actress.

16. Baadshaho

         Director- Milan Luthria

        Cast- Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Vidyut Jammwal, Ileana D‘Cruz, Esha Gupta

After Once Upon a Time in Mumbai, this film marks the return of the trio of Milan Luthria, Ajay Devgn and Emraan Hashmi. The interesting premise of a treasure hunt during the Emergency declared by Indira Gandhi has all the makings of a blockbuster. Emergency is still a taboo subject for our filmmakers and if the film is successful, that might change. Period detailing of the 70’s was a highlight of OUATIM and it will be interesting how Luthria again show the turbulent decade in this one.

 

17. Robot 2.0

        Director- Shankar

       Cast- Rajinikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson

Touted to be costlier than Baahubali,  Shankar’s Robot 2.0 is not just a movie, it is a cinematic event. There are not many instances of a superstar from Hindi films working in a South Indian films, but that norm has been broken with this film. Akshay Kumar has been lauded for his out-of-the-box choices in the last few years and while Rajinikanth will get the footfalls in the theatre, Kumar will bring the claps. Forget Ra One and Krishh 3, this film might give us our first proper super-villain.

18. Padmavati

       Director- Sanjay Leela Bhansali

      Cast- Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Aditi Rao Hydari, Arunodoy Singh, Jim Sarbh

While I was in school, I had read the story of Rani Padmini in Abanindranath Tagore’s book Rajkahini and I remember literally getting goosebumps. So, when a modern auteur like Bhansali decides to adapt this subject for screen, interest is obviously piqued. With the cast at his disposal, Bhansali might well be giving us the cinema of the year again after Bajirao Mastani.

19. Raagdesh

     Director- Tigmanshu Dhulia

     Cast- Kunal Kapoor, Mohit Marwah, Amit Sadh, Vijay Verma, Kenny Basumatary

The war waged by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and his troops against the British during the World War II is one of the greatest example of valour and patriotism in Indian history, However, for a strange reason, such a thrilling chapter from our history was not found worthy of a film for so long. However, now Tigmanshu Dhulia is making a movie on the Red Fort trials of the Indian National Army (INA), the joint court martial of Col. Prem Sahgal, Col. Gurubaksh Singh Dhillon and Maj. Gen. Shahnawaz Khan. Despite the absence of big names in the cast, expect this film to create some ripples. Also, our very own Kenny Basumatary is a part of the cast!

 

20. Trapped

          Director- Vikramaditya Motwane

          Cast- Rajkummar Rao

I remember watching a Ryan Reynolds movie called Buried and getting this claustrophobic feeling for quite a few days after that.  Trapped is the story of a man being locked inside an apartment for 25 days might bring similar feeling for the audience. Wwith Rajkummar as the lead actor and Vikramaditya Motwane of Udaan and Lootera fame directing the movie, we might be getting a film which will stand the test of time.