The hottest movies to watch out for this summer

A lowdown on all the Bollywood flicks that are turning up the heat

The boom is on. Despite the access of alternative entertainment - through web series and streaming channels that bankroll original films and series - the big screen is still alive and kicking.
While high-quality series like Sacred Games and Made In Heaven command eyeballs as soon as they premiere on Netflix and Amazon Prime respectively, feature films like the Amitabh Bachchan-Taapsee Pannu whodunit Badla and the Kartik Aaryan-Kriti Sanon romedy Luka Chuppi have also managed to draw "housefull" shows.
The writing on the Bollywood wall is clear: the big screen can't be threatened by the new players in the market. And the boom is expected to continue in Mumbai's sweltering summer months of April and May. The mercury is already rising. Concurrently, the promotional teasers and trailers of the next attractions are being watched avidly on social media platforms.
Traditionally, the summer school holidays are considered ideal for a spurt in box office collections. More families are in the mood for outings, which ensure air-conditioned comfort. Even though the rates of tickets at the multiplexes (and even popcorn tubs) have escalated beyond control, the movies are still the most affordable and preferred form of entertainment.
As you may know, this year, the Indian general elections have been scheduled in seven phases from April 11 to May 19. Yet, even as the poll fever mounts sky-high, cinema-going is more than likely to continue inexorably.
Two of the most avidly-anticipated summer movies on the slate - Kalank and Student of the Year 2 - come from Karan Johar's frontline Dharma Productions. After a long hiatus, a multi-starrer - toplining Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Sonakshi Sinha and Aditya Roy Kapur - will open on April 17. The pre-ponement has been largely prompted to take advantage of Mahavir Jayanti and Good Friday holidays followed by an extended weekend.
Indeed, the Kalank trailer suggests that the production, directed by Abhishek Varman, has been sumptuously mounted. A period drama set in the 1940s, it marks the culmination of a dream project initiated by Karan's late father Yash Johar. With the passage of time, the acting crew has undergone changes. For instance, following Sridevi's shocking death last year, Madhuri Dixit gamely stepped in as her peer's replacement in the part of a courtesan named Bahar Begum. Here's one opus which promises to tell a love story irrevocably affected by the turbulence of the pre-Partition era.
The second Dharma production - Student of the Year 2, directed by Punit Malhotra, the next edition of the franchise which began almost seven years ago - is scheduled to release on May 10. It showcases Tiger Shroff as the eponymous campus heart-throb, flanked by debutantes Tara Sutaria (a known name in upscale theatre circles) and Ananya, daughter of actor Chunky Pandey. A guest appearance has been shot with one of the original students, Alia Bhatt, who attained instant stardom under Karan Johar's mentorship.
Two glossy spy thrillers are on the cards. Director Robbie Grewal's curiously titled Romeo Akbar Walter (RAW), co-starring John Abraham and Mouni Roy, is set to get into action either on April 5 or 12. The dates have kept changing moodily time and again. Incidentally, Abraham, of late, appears to be specialising in portraying permutations of a self-appointed vigilante or an undercover agent. Much depends on his star power to pull in the audience.
The other espionage adventure, India's Most Wanted, directed by Raj Kumar Gupta, best-known for No One Killed Jessica and Raid, arrives on May 24. Gupta has elected to narrate the derring-do of an intelligence officer assigned to capture a terrorist without firing a single bullet. Said to be based on real-life events, the test here is whether the film's hero Arjun Kapoor - who still has to prove his acting chops - can do justice to a role that demands intensity of the highest order.
Earlier on May 3, fans of feather-light romedies will get their quota from the Rohit Jugraj-helmed Arjun Patiala, with Kriti Sanon being courted by the Punjabi actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh, who made a strong first impression in Bollywood with Udta Punjab, followed by the sports film Soorma. Dosanjh exudes a likeable screen presence and, so far, his performances have been correctly subdued. Fingers crossed.
Now De De Pyaar De (May 17) may sound either like a teenybopper title or a nod to the song filmed on Amitabh Bachchan in Sharaabi (1984). The main draws of this venture, directed by Akiv Ali, are none other than Ajay Devgn and Tabu, who were last seen in the same frame in Golmaal Again. Supported by Rakul Preet Singh and Jimmy Sheirgill, here's what seems to be a menu of froth and repartee in a style patented by its producer Luv Ranjan, who confected last year's surprise hit Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety.
On the offbeat front, expect Richa Chadda incarnating southern cinema's adult star Shakeela. Directed by Indrajeet Lankesh, the biopic is expected to release in May.
The buzz is on, meanwhile, for the remake of Saeed Mirza's 1980 explication of Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai. Directed by Soumitra Ranade, the update of Pinto's travails is scheduled to unspool on April 3. Manav Kaul and Nandita Das take over from Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi in the original.
That's quite a summer harvest then. Still, the Bollywood trade, averse to taking risks, has kept the week commencing from April 26 blank. Reason? A clash with the worldwide premiere of Hollywood's superhero flashmatazz Avengers: Endgame could knock out the competition clean.
That anxiety apart, the scorching heat is on for Bollywood's wheel of fortune.
wknd@khaleejtimes.com