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)
