The post-pandemic dark cloud of uncertainty finally seems to be out of sight for the Indian film industry. As moviegoers ditch their fear for a wholesome theatre experience, the box office gets back to business. Releases like Drisham 2, Bhool Bhulaiyaan 2, RRR have proved that the 70 mm is here to stay!
With this the year ahead, we have some big releases for the cinephiles. Starting with megastar Shah Rukh Khan coming back after a long hiatus to multi-starrer Kuttey, January 2023 is all set to get the Box Office wheel rolling.
Pathaan
The highly-anticipated film, which stars John Abraham, Shah Rukh Khan, and Deepika Padukone, is scheduled to release on Jan 25, 2023. Directed by Siddharth Anand, it is the actor’s first big-screen appearance in five years. It will be released in various languages including Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi.
His last two films, which were released in 2017 and 2018, were Imtiaz Ali’s Harry Met Sejal and Aanand L Rai’s Zero. Neither of these films did well at the box office. However, with SRK’s appeal to the masses, Pathaan’s release shouldn’t be affected by the lackluster performance of both Zero and WHMS.
Adipurush
This film is an adaptation of a mythological story involving the central characters of Ramayan. The film is fronted by Prabhas and also has Saif Ali Khan, Kriti Sanon and Sunny Singh in pivotal roles. It will be released in various languages. The movie is written and directed by Om Raut who has delivered blockbusters like Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior. Adipurush is budgeted at over Rs 600 crores, making it one of the most expensive Indian films ever made.
Kuttey
Kuttey marks the directorial debut of Aasmaan Bhardwaj, son of Vishal Bharadwaj. The multi-starrer thriller stars big names from Naseeruddin Shah to Arjun Kapoor. Other actors in pivotal roles are Tabu, Kumud Mishra, Konkona Sensharma, Radhika Madan and Shardul Bharadwaj. The film follows the story of three stray gangs and how they cross paths on their hunt.
Tehran
John Abraham’s Teheran, also starring Manushi Chhillar, will be released on January 26. The audience is reportedly excited about the political drama. Incidentally, while Pathan and Tehran will fight for shows at the Box Office, Abraham stars in both. Not much is out about the plot of Tehran but John Abraham during an interview with the Indian Express has revealed it is a geopolitical thriller. Inspired by true events, Tehran marks the feature directorial debut of ad filmmaker Arun Gopalan.
Gandhi Godse-a war
After making several successful films such as Damini and Ghayal, director Rajkumar Santoshi is making a return to the industry with Gandhi Godse – Ek Yudh, which will be released on January 26. Gandhi Godse- Ek Yudh depicts the war of two extremely opposite ideologies between Mahatma Gandhi and Nathuram Godse” a press release stated. The role of Mahatma Gandhi is played by Deepak Anthani, while Chinmay Mandlekar plays Nathuram Godse.