By Sahil Sankhla:Â
The year 2014 has already begun on a high for Bollywood due to the smashing success of Dhoom 3 and there is much more to look forward to in the coming months. Here is a list of 11 movies that you can’t afford to miss in this new year:
1. Dedh Ishqiya (directed by Abhishek Chaubey)
After the enormous success of Ishqiya, director Abhishek Chaubey comes out with its sequel titled “Dedh Ishqiya” which stars Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi, Madhuri Dixit, Huma Qureshi and Vijay Raaz. The film has already been released and is getting a lot of critical acclaim. Even Naseer sahab feels that it is better than “Ishqiya”.
Eye catchers: The Script, Naseeruddin Shah’s acting.
2. Lakshmi (directed by Nagesh Kukunoor)
Lakshmi is the story of a 13-year-old girl’s heroism and untold courage who is thrown into prostitution and is brutally raped and beaten. She is rescued in a police raid and despite the violent threats and corrupt system, she stands against all odds to put her traffickers behind bars.
Eye catchers: Nagesh Kukunoor’s direction, the story-line.
3. Highway (directed by Imtiaz Ali)
Highway is a story of two individuals, Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda, from very different backgrounds where the jaunty Alia Bhatt is shown experiencing a variety of emotions during her travel across different states with her abductors, one of those being Hooda himself. In bondage she finds freedom.
Eye(and ear) catchers: Imtiaz Ali’s direction, A.R. Rahman’s music
4. Gulaab Gang (directed by Soumik Sen)
The dancing queen of Bollywood Madhuri Dixit and the bubbly girl Juhi Chawla in never seen avatars are certainly going to blow off your mind and take away your heart if you are a quality movie lover. The story is reported to be based on the life Sampat Pal, founder of Gulaabi Gang, who fights against domestic violence and other abuses against women in Uttar Pradesh although the director of the film denies any connection.
Eye Catchers: The battle between good(Madhuri) and evil(Juhi) and their screen appearance as a whole.
5. Hawaa Hawaai (directed by Amol Gupte)
The director whose love and affection towards kids compelled him to make yet another children’s film which, I believe, will be loved by viewers of all age groups. After “Taare Zameen Par” and “Stanley ka Dabba”, he is back with his directorial venture titled “Hawaa Hawaai” which is a story of how a bunch of kids are brought together for a skating tournament. Amol Gupte’s extremely talented son, Partho Gupte (the lead actor in “Stanley ka Dabba“), will be seen in a pivotal role.
Eye catchers: Heart-warming script, pure and raw acting by extremely talented kids.
6. Samrat And Co. (directed by Kaushik Ghatak)
“Samrat and Co.” is expected to be the first of its kind detective movie which discovers the illegitimate aspects of crime solving in the world of private investigation. The lead actor, Rajeev Khandelwal (of the “Aamir” fame), will introduce audiences to the life of private detectives who utilize their raw intelligence and limited resources to solve their cases.
Eye Catchers: Rajeev Khandelwal’s superb acting skills, hopefully the story-line.
7. City Lights (directed by Hansal Mehta)
City Lights is an official remake of UK’s international award winning film Metro Manila. The film marks the coming together of director Hansal Mehta and actor Raj Kumar Yadav for the second time after Shahid. “City Lights” is about a poor farmer who moves to Mumbai to make a fortune and ameliorate his family’s life.
Eye Catchers: The story line, Locations, Raj Kumar Yadav’s acting.
8. P.K. (directed by Raju Hirani)
The most awaited film of 2014 has to be Aamir Khan starrer “P.K.”. The duo has already given Bollywood “3 Idiots”, a perfect film in all aspects and also the most loved film. Director Hirani has stated that the film will be a satire about “God and god-men”.
Eye Catchers: Raju Hirani’s direction and script, Aamir Khan’s acting.
9. Haider (directed by Vishal Bhardwaj)
The Vishal Bharadwaj directed film is the last of his trilogy based on Shakespearean tragedies(the first two being Maqbool based on Macbeth and Omkara based on Othello), Haider is an interpretation of Shakespeare’s revenge tragedy play, ‘Hamlet’. Starring Shahid Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor, the film is expected to re-establish Shahid Kapoor’s lost image.
Eye Catchers: Vishal Bhardwaj’s direction and his quality script.
10. Detective Byomkesh Bakshi (directed by Dibakar Banerjee)
The 90s kids would have heard the name of Byomkesh Bakshi before and as far as I know, their eyes would be sparkling with excitement at the thought of the film adaptation of one of the most successful detective characters in Bengali literature. The television adaption of the same used to telecast on DD National in 1993(Season 1) and 1997(Season 2). The much talented actor Sushant Singh Rajput would be playing the role of Detective Bakshi. Keeping aside the comparison between Rajit Kapoor and Sushant’s version of Byomkesh Bakshi, let’s hope to have a good film served on the platter.
Eye Catchers: Dibakar Banerjee’s direction, Sushant Rajput’s acting
11. Bombay Velvet (directed by Anurag Kashyap)
Bombay Velvet is based on historian Gyan Prakash’s book Mumbai Fables, a story of how the city of Mumbai became a metropolis in the background of love, greed, violence and jazz music. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma in lead roles while Karan Johar plays the role of the primary antagonist.
Eye Catchers: Anurag Kashyap- the name says it all.