The 20 most anticipated Hindi films of 2018

My list of the most anticipated Hindi films of 2018:

20. Padman

R. Balki’s film is inspired by the life of India’s Menstrual Man, Arunachalam Muruganantham, a Tamil Nadu-based social entrepreneur who invented the low-cost sanitary pad-making machine.

19. Pari

Anushka Sharma’s next from her production house, Clean Slate Films, is a horror-comedy. The first poster of the film was out a few months back and it’s really intriguing. 

18. Sui Dhaaga: Made in India

Sharat Kataria’s second feature after Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015) is based on the initiatives of the Make in India progress and stars Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma in the lead roles.

17. Omerta

Hansal Mehta’s fourth collaboration with Rajkummar Rao, which was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2017, is based on the life of British terrorist Omar Sheikh.

16. Gold

Set in 1948, Reema Kagti’s Gold is about the historic win of India’s first Olympic medal after Independence. Akshay Kumar is portraying the role of former Hockey player Balbir Singh Sr., a three-time Olympic gold champion.

15. Hichki

Rani Mukerjee is returning to the big screen after a gap of four years with Sidharth P. Malhotra’s directorial Hichki, in which she plays the role of a teacher who suffers from the Tourette syndrome, a neuropsychiatric disorder.

14. Bombay Talkies 2

An anthology film consisting of four short films, directed by Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap and is based on the theme of love and lust.

13. In The Shadows

Dipesh Jain’s In The Shadows is a psychological drama which follows the journey of a man who is trapped within the city walls and in his own mind. It features Manoj Bajpayee, Ranvir Shorey and Shahana Goswami. The film has won the Grand Jury Prize under India Gold section at Mumbai Film Festival 2017 and was nominated at Busan and Chicago International Film Festivals.

12. The Song of Scorpions

Anup Singh’s second feature after the critically acclaimed Qissa is about twisted love, revenge and the redemptive power of a song. Golshifteh Farahani and Irrfan Khan play a scorpion singer and camel peddler, respectively.

11. Beyond The Clouds

Renowned Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi’s debut in Indian Cinema. Enough said.

10. Untitled Anand L Rai film

Shah Rukh Khan will be seen playing the character of a dwarf in Anand L Rai’s next. It also stars Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif.

9. Thugs of Hindostan

Aamir Khan is collaborating with Amitabh Bachchan for the first time with this period action-adventure film, based on Philip Meadows Taylor's 1839 novel Confessions of a Thug.

8.  Raazi

The Meghna Gulzar-directed film is an adaptation of Harinder Sikka's novel Calling Sehmat and it features Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal.

7. October

Shoojit Sircar’s next is a romantic drama with Varun Dhawan.

6. 2.0

Akshay Kumar plays the antagonist in this sequel to the Rajinikanth starrer Enthiran (2010).

5. Vishal Bhardwaj’s next

This Deepika Padukone, Irrfan Khan starrer untitled gangster film was earlier to be directed by Honey Trehan, but now will be helmed by Vishal Bhardwaj.

4. Bhavesh Joshi

After scoring a hat-trick of excellent films Udaan (2010), Lootera (2013) and Trapped (2017), it’s hard not to be pumped for Vikramaditya Motwane’s next.

3. Mukkabaaz

Anurag Kashyap’s latest film is a socio-political love story of a boxer, set in Uttar Pradesh. Film’s soundtrack is already out and Kashyap once again proved that when it comes to music-sense, he is way ahead of other contemporary directors.

2. The Sanjay Dutt biopic

Ranbir Kapoor playing Sanjay Dutt in a Rajkumar Hirani film. Sounds really interesting. Film’s official title has not been announced yet. 

1. Padmavati

The non-release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati was the biggest disappointment of 2017. While the film is yet to get a green signal from CBFC and a release date, it remains the most anticipated Hindi film, without a doubt.

Honourable mentions:

99 Songs (Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy)

Kaalakaandi (Akshat Verma)

Daasdev (Sudhir Mishra)

Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar (Dibakar Banerjee)

Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran (Abhishek Sharma)

Raid (Rajkumar Gupta)