Most Awaited Movies : Hindi (2018)

After one of really bad year at movies in 2017, its time to look at what is in store for 2018. Some expected ones in the list and some surprises.

Here's the list of my Most Awaited Hindi Movies :


P.S : The release dates are subjective to change..


Mukkabaaz (January 12)
directed by Anurag Kashyap, starring Vineet Kumar Singh, Zoya Hussain, Jimmy Sheirgill, Ravi Kishan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui 

Plot : 
A lower caste boxer and his struggle to make his mark in the boxing world.
What To Look For : 
Vineet Kumar’s performance and Anurag Kashyap direction (after a good comeback with Raman Raghav 2.0 in his last film) makes this a very eagerly awaited movie for me. ‘Paintra’ trailer set the great vibe, and then there’s Nawaz cameo (re-do of DevD’s emosanal atyachar) in ‘Mushkil hai apna mel priye’ song. Inspired from true events, with Jimmy and Ravi in supporting roles, debut of Zoya who plays mute girl that symbolizes women of today, and tussle of upper caste with lower caste with added political sequences based on beef, it doesn’t really look like anything can go wrong with this film. Bit early but I have a feeling Vineet will be among top5 actors list when 2018 end year lists/awards comes out. Lets see!


Aiyaary (Febuary 9)
directed by Neeraj Pandey, starring Manoj Bajpayee, Sidharth Malhotra, Rakul Preet, Pooja Chopra, Anupam Kher, Naseeruddin Shah, Adil Hussain, Kumud Mishra

Plot : 
A drama thriller about 2 Army men who have different ideologies as the story covers various topics from corruption to artillery scam to patriotism.
What To Look For : 
From trailer it directly takes you back to ‘A Wednesday’ with the narrative going at both sides on a call where one guy appears to be negative i.e Sidharth in this case who very much like that film I think would turn positive (sorry for spoilers, just a guess). And the background score reminds of ‘Special 26’ and ‘Baby’ which is good news, because Neeraj Pandey’s only weak/average film has been Dhoni, and Aiyaary is totally in the league of films where you expect Neeraj to nail it. Unlike others, I feel Sidharth would do well in this role, also keen to see Rakul for first time (didn’t watch Yaariyan). And the entire ensemble cast with that powerful trailer ensures that you just gotta have high expectations from this film. Would love to see how he builds up both narratives of Manoj and Sidharth towards a big ending.


Pari (March 2)
directed by Prosit Roy, starring Anushka Sharma, Parambrata Chatterjee, Rajat Kapoor

Plot :
Nothing has been out yet, except that its a love story with a horror backdrop in terms of atmosphere.
What To Look For : 
Its 1-1 for Anushka’s produced movies, if ‘NH10' was an excellent film then ‘Phillauri’ was complete opposite of it that left me disappointed. Pari ever since its stills started coming has looked interesting, and if Anushka’s interviews are real then this could be more of a psychological horror love story, and not a routine horror movie. No idea what this film deals with, Anushka playing a abuse victim is one possibility. Also, looking forward to see Kahani fame ‘Parambrata Chatterjee’ who hasn’t done much noteworthy hindi films ever since, this could be his next good performance. And there’s the ever reliable Rajat Kapoor also in the cast. Fingers crossed that this movie turns out to be a hard-hitting and revive the trust that I somewhat lost with her last movie.


Blackmail (March 30)
directed by Abhinay Deo, starring Irrfan Khan, Kirti Kulhari, Arunoday Singh, Divya Dutta

Plot : 
A married man stuck in a monotonous nine to five unexciting job, one day finds out that his wife is having an affair. He decides to blackmail her that turns into a rollercoaster ride.
What To Look For : 
I am not really a fan of Abhinay Deo films, even his Delhi Belly doesn’t have the repetitive feel for me. But the story gives scope for some brilliant comic moments for Irrfan who I believe would nail it. And I have loved Kirti in both Pink and Indu Sarkar (despite the movie having Madhur stamp over it), would be great to see her in a different kind of role here.


October (April 13)
directed by Shoojit Sircar, starring Varun Dhawan, Banita Sandhu 

Plot : 
Story revolves around love and relationships.
What To Look For : 
Almost nothing has been revealed about the story of film, but since its Shoojit so you can expect it would be Varun’s 2nd off-beat film after Badlapur and that is a welcome change for people like me who get tired of watching him in routine comedies (not denying he entertains in them). With Imtiaz losing his 100% awesome films record last year (I liked JHMS but it certainly wasn’t the level Imtiaz films have), so the question is will Shoojit maintain his perfect record or not. All his films like Vicky Donor, Madras Cafe and Piku have been terrific (I haven’t seen Yahaan so no idea if its good too). Banita making her debut would make for a interesting fresh pairing. Keen to see if Shoojit keeps the setting light as his last movie or goes darker this time. I hope its the latter.


2 Point 0 (April 14)
directed by S. Shankar, starring Rajinikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson

Plot : 
Dr Vaseegaran is forced to reassemble Chitti in order to stop a deadly winged monster.
What To Look For : 
Without a doubt, Rajni vs Akki will be the main usp of the movie (for neutrals I mean, not fanbases of these actors). I don’t watch Rajni films, but Robot I did, and it worked very well for me entirely. Awaiting that scene when Chitti gets reassembled, should be full of whistles by audience. While Aishwarya will be missed, wonder if it was dates/price issue or Shankar wanted Amy from start. Though Amy would match well in terms of glam factor, but acting not sure. Lastly, watching Akshay do negative roles is always fun, even with this not so likeable makeup, I am quite excited to see him in this role where if some articles are right then he would be playing a scientist who turns into a crow. If, and a huge if, the content turns out to be pretty good, then we may have another south movie to take the biggest blockbuster of the year like Baahubali2 did last year.


Raazi (May 11)
directed by Meghna Gulzar, starring Alia Bhatt, Vicky Kaushal

Plot : 
A thriller about a Kashmiri girl who is married to an army officer across the border who provides Indian intelligence agencies with priceless information during the 1971 Indo-Pak war helping save lives of many Indian soldiers.
What To Look For :
After her hardhitting last film ‘Talvar’, expectations are sky high for Meghna Gulzar’s new movie. Alia Bhatt hasn’t disappointed in any movie except for her debut film, even in the average ‘Badrinath ki dulhania’ she was rock solid with her performance. The story looks very interesting, and keen to see how Vicky goes who for me was slightly off-color in ‘Raman Raghav 2.0’.


Fanne Khan (June 15)
directed by Atul Manjrekar, starring Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai, Rajkumar Rao, Divya Dutta

Plot : 
Official adaptation of Dutch film ‘Everybody’s famous’ that revolves around a dad who dreams of becoming a songwriter but fails and then desperate to get his awkward and overweight daughter succeed in the same profession. He then goes on to kidnap the famous pop star of country and hold her hostage demanding to be heard by the music industry.
What To Look For :
There certainly will be indian twists to the orignal movie, lets hope they are the right ones. With Anil and Aishwarya singing their songs in film,  and Rajkumar Rao playing Aishwarya’s love interest, I am looking forward to see if it turns out to be a good decision or a major backfire. Also looking forward to see who they pick to play Anil’s daughter, and also how well Aishwarya’s retro look goes who in her 3rd movie ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ since comeback finally looked appealing and not hamming. Also, there will be tribute to Lata Mangeshkar with Aish singing her songs playing a Lata fangirl, and Anil’s daughter would be named Lata too as per some articles. I am slightly skeptical about the film, but if everything goes right then it would be a great dramedy to see.


Sanju (June 29)
directed by Rajkumar Hirani, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Dia Mirza, Manisha Koirala, Paresh Rawal, Sonam Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Vicky Kaushal, Tabu

Plot : 
Biopic on the life of Sanjay Dutt.
What To Look For : 
Even though I loved Ranbir in both Jagga Jasoos and Tamasha, they did poorly at BO so would love this Sanjay Dutt biopic give him a mega hit. Manisha playing Nargis Dutt (Sanjay’s mother), Paresh plays Sunil Dutt (Sanjay’s father), Dia plays Manyata (Sanjay’s wife), Sonam plays Tina Munim (Sanjay’s girlfriend then) and also there’s Tabu, Anushka, Vicky Kaushal (might be playing Kumar Gaurav) whose exact roles are yet to be known. Also, Amaal Malik will be re-creating the famous RD Burman track ‘Kya yehi pyar hai’ from Rocky. Hirani is known for giving great entertainers with a message, so this should be a winner in all likelyhood. But the only scary part for me is, the bonding Hirani shares with Sanjay Dutt, and the way biopics usually are, there is huge possibility of wrong-doings/controversies associated with Sanjay won’t get enough screen time which will be a let-down for me. Hoping Hirani is brave enough not to do that!


Gold (August 15)
directed by Reema Kagti, starring Akshay Kumar, Mouni Roy, Kunal Kapoor, Amit Sadh

Plot :
About India’s first Olympic medal win as a free nation in the year 1948 in sports of Hockey.
What To Look For :
Not sure if it would be right calling it a biopic since Reema herself admitted she will fictionalise the story. As per her it would focus more on behind the scenes of that famous win, and have more dramatic story that spans 12 years. Would be very nice to see Akshay in this role (I am not really fond of watching him in social dramas like Toilet/Padman etc). It appears he might play role of the captain named Balbir Singh, waiting for trailer to know how much is it based on his life. Also, Mouni Roy makes her debut in a major role. Even though hockey scenes would be pretty less in comparison to ‘Chak de India’, would love to see how Reema pulls them off. I had loved her last movie ‘Talaash’, so expecting quite a good movie again.


Sapna didi (October 2)
directed by Vishal Bharadwaj, starring Deepika Padukone, Irrfan Khan

Plot : 
Ashraf Khan seeks revenge from Dawood Ibrahim for her husband’s death in a police encounter.  She takes help of a gangster who trains her, as she eventually becomes a famous Mafia Queen of 80’s named ‘Sapna didi’ who plans to kill Dawood at a cricket match in Sharjah. A plan that Dawood comes to know well before the match and eventually Sapna is tortured to death by him.
What To Look For : 
It was supposed to be directed by Honey Trehan, but after a mutual decision Vishal has come on board to direct which increases my curiosity for this film. Been ages since saw Deepika in excellent ‘Piku’ and ‘Tamasha’, and with her role more or less have a dejavu feel in Padmavat (if at all it releases thanks to our so called democracy), ‘Sapna Didi’ would give her the perfect opportunity to be in limelight with a powerpacked performance (not for her bad Holly films) and I expect film to be as good too with Irrfan playing role of guy who tries to help Sapna in her revenge. Wonder if Vishal will show Dawood in character or not, last year 2 movies did it, while Farhan Akhtar’s version in ‘Daddy’ was unintentionally funny, Siddhanth Kapoor did a decent job in ‘Haseena Parkar’. I won’t be surprised if Vishal keeps Dawood in background and maybe completely skip showing the tortorous death of Sapna didi.


Thugs of Hindostaan (November 7)
directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya, starring Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Katrina Kaif, Fatima Sana Shaikh

Plot : 
A period action adventure set in 1790, purely fictional with Fatima playing the central role.
What To Look For :
Huge suspense regarding the exact story. What is known is that its a larger than life action adventure which will have some powerful dialogues, and battle between Aamir-Amitabh possible at end (not confirmed). With Katrina taking handling more of glamor side of film, will be interesting to see Fatima’s role and how she goes after being super good in Dangal. I personally loved the look of Aamir Khan like many others, but Amitabh’s look turned me off. Also, last time Vijay Krishna tried a major larger than life movie (not counting Dhoom3 as its a part of franchise), it was Tashan which was a complete disaster content wise specially. With Aamir in one of the lead role this time, maybe you can trust this would be a better written movie. Fingers crossed, it lights up box-office this Diwali.


Zero (December 21)
directed by Anand L Rai, starring Shahrukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Katrina Kaif, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Salman Khan

Plot :
A love story between a guy who is a dwarf and a woman.
What To Look For : 
I don’t love Shahrukh movies anymore, and yet his movies always makes my most awaited lists. Its like that Dangal dialogue ‘shahrukh ko kabhi naa nahi kehte’ even if he has lost his charm. Talking of Zero, there are speculations that Shahrukh is playing a double role, which I hope is false else it will be ‘Fan' dejavu. Also its said that Anushka plays a mentally challenged role, which again I wish is untrue as then it turns into a ‘Barfi’ dejavu. There’s already a ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’ dejavu thanks to repeat of same trio in leads. And if all this wasn’t enough, we will see Salman Khan, Kajol, Juhi Chawla, Rani Mukherjee, Alia Bhatt, Sridevi (who knows, could be more) in cameos, probably in a song, which if you remember right, gives dejavu of ‘Om Shanti Om’. If ALR surpasses all the hurdles written above, then and only then there’s a chance of a good/awesome movie. ALR is pretty much in the Hirani zone with the amount of ‘entertainment quotient’ his movies have, but the only director out of Shahrukh’s last 7 movies who managed to utilise Shahrukh in a way that the film doesn’t become a mess was Gauri Shinde in ‘Dear Zindagi’ where Shahrukh played a supporting role to be honest but still that did work for most portions of his act. So, can ALR be the 2nd director to give a good movie involving Shahrukh remains to be seen now.


Shoot The Piano Player (No date out yet)
directed by Sriram Raghavan, starring Ayushmann Khurana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Vinay Pathak, Ashwini Kalsekar

Plot : 
Nothing official out yet, might have some connection to 60’s french movie with same name but I doubt it.
What To Look For : 
Sriram Raghavan made an awesome comeback with ‘Badlapur’ after giving the forgettable ‘Agent Vinod’ which is his only bad film so far. Ayushmann with Radhika would be a nice new pairing to see, with Tabu and other good actors to go with. There will be plenty of old movie classic dialogues/songs/situations re-used which is Sriram's trademark style. Should be refreshing to see Ayushmann experiment with a different role here who has had 4 good performances in a row now. Its first time Amit Trivedi is giving music for Sriram, and I have a feeling he would smash it out of the park here.


Omerta (No date out yet)
directed by Hansal Mehta, starring Rajkumar Rao

Plot : 
About british born terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh known for his involvement in the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002, and also covers a host of terrorist activities including 26/11 through the eyes of Omar.
What To Look For :
Has to be 1st outright negative role Rajkumar is doing, even ‘Love Sex Aur Dhokha’ and ‘Ragini MMS’ had only shades of it. I am really excited thinking how brilliant it would be if he pulls it off (which he should) doing a role completely opposite of ‘Shahid’. The story will not only show the mindset of terrorists but also how educated people get radicalised. And based on real events, so chances of another hard-hitting movie from Hansal Mehta is on who was clearly not at his best in ‘Simran’. Its a political  thriller that was supposed to release by end of last year, hopefully we get to see in 2018.


102 Not Out (No date out yet)
directed by Umesh Shukla, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor

Plot : 
About a man who wants to break the record of the longest living man in the world which is held by a guy from China who is 118 years old.
What To Look For :
Umesh Shukla is adapting it from a successful Gujarati play, much like was case in ‘Oh My God’, which is a good news. His last movie ‘All is Well’ was plain bad, but watching Amitabh Bachchan play 102 year old person in this movie with Rishi Kapoor as his son who himself will be 75 years old, makes this film look so unique and highly anticipated. I think we are in for a treat from both veteran actors here. It was supposed to release in Nov 2017, so lets see when we get a trailer this year.



Films like ‘Padmaavat’, ‘Sonu ke Titu ki Sweety’, ‘DaasDev’, ‘Parmanu’, ‘Raid’, ‘Baazaar’, ‘Manikarnika’, ‘Veere di Wedding’, ‘Sadak2’, ‘Sui Dhaaga’, ‘Super 30’, ‘Kedarnath’, 'Badhaai Ho’  and ‘Raj Dk next horror comedy’ missed my 16 awaited films list, but I will keep an eye over them completely and also all other small budget films or films which have my fav actors with non-fav directors or vice-versa that may surprise.

I just hope 2018 turns out to be good content wise, we need plenty of great movies, and not just performance driven movies this year.

Most Awaited Movies : Hindi

Hindi Films Industry badly needs quality movies, as first half has been way ordinary as compared to last few years...

Here's my list of Most Awaited Movies in rest half of the year.


P.S : The release dates are subjective to change... 


Mom (July 7)
directed by Ravi Udyawar, starring Sridevi, Akshay Khanna,  Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Abhimanyu Singh, Pitobash

Plot : 
Journey of a mother as she fights between two wrongs, all to protect her daughter and rest of her family.
What To Look For : 
Sridevi's one dialogue in new trailer 'kya chilla rahe the tum log, bula apni maa ko, aa gayi uski maa' is enough to be excited for this movie. With supporting cast of Nawazuddin Siddique and Akshay Khanna getting fair share of scenes in trailers, I am keen to see how Abhimanyu, Pitobash and some other actors fit in. Only worry at this point is, the story is predictable (unless I am thinking it total wrong) and scope of melodrama is there which I wish debutant director Ravi won't go towards. A complete good film, and not just excellent performances (which most likely will be loved) is what I am looking for.
My Fav Trailer : Mom


Jagga Jasoos (July 14)
directed by Anurag Basu, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Govinda, Saurabh Shukla

Plot :
A teenager detective with his assistant girlfriend, searches for his missing father going through various adventures.
What To Look For :
First musical (correct me if I am wrong) movie in our industry where the characters will converse through songs and minimal dialogues. Govinda role (guess its a cameo) hasn't been revealed in trailers, while Pritam's songs released so far have been very good and if there's 20-25 songs in film as rumoured then even better. Also keen to see Saurabh Shukla, who is always hilarious in his performances. Its a very risky genre but if Basu is at his best again, then Jagga Jasoos can be movie of the year.
My Fav Trailer : Jagga Jasoos


Jab Harry Met Sejal (August 4)
directed by Imtiaz Ali, starring Shahrukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Sayani Gupta, Chandan Roy Sanyal

Plot : 
Harry and Sejal on a journey across Europe where search for Sejal's lost engagement ring begins that makes Harry understand love and relationships better. Whereas Sejal experiences new found freedom, security and solace in Harry's company.
What To Look For : 
I was close to omitting this film from the list but then its hard to totally shut off Imtiaz movie who hasn't given a single average movie till date. Except for 2 teasers possibly and some parts of Safar song promo, this looks more of a Shahrukh movie rather than Imtiaz movie and that has totally cancelled all my craze. Imtiaz movies always has had excellent music too and all 4 songs released till now aren't worth listening twice even, one of weakest Pritam album. That leaves to only 2 hopes, one is Sayani and Chandan have decent amount of screen-time in movie, and other is ofcourse Imtiaz, maybe it just turns out to be a case of poor promos but great film. And please, keep Shahrukh's sardar look role as short as possible. I would anyday prefer Imtiaz doing films like 'Highway', 'Rockstar' and 'Tamasha'. But Imtiaz wanted a lighthearted entertaining movie with happy ending, wish it turns out to be as good as 'Jab We Met' or 'Love Aaj Kal' were. Fingers crossed but I am highly doubting Imtiaz to deliver this time.
My Fav Trailer : Jab Harry Met Sejal


Bareilly Ki Barfi (August 18)
directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, starring Rajkumar Rao, Ayushmann Khurana, Kriti Sanon, Seema Pahwa.

Plot :
A rom-com (maybe a love triangle - not confirmed) that is set in Uttar Pradesh.
What To Look For : 
Ayushmann performances in his last two movies 'Meri Pyaari Bindu' and 'Dum Laga Ke Haisha' have been very good. While Kriti I find appealing even though she hasn't done anything to talk of highly. Then there's ever reliable Rajkumar Rao, while Ashwiny Iyer last directed film 'Nil Battey Sannata' was pretty good too. Looking forward to a lovely lighthearted movie, and if I get more will be very happy.


Daddy (September 8)
directed by Ashim Ahluwalia, starring Arjun Rampal, Aishwarya Rajesh, Nishikant Kamat, Farhan Akhtar.

Plot :
About Arun Gawli, who came from the rough streets and back alleys of Central Mumbai and then went on to script his own destiny by becoming one of India's most feared mobsters. Some consider him power hungry gangster and some see him as 'Daddy' or a modern day Robin Hood for the working class neighbourhood he belongs to.
What To Look For :
Ahluwalia's 1st movie 'Miss Lovely' was praised a lot by critics, personally the movie didn't work for me due to the backdrop it was on but it was still a very well made film. With Daddy trailer, it seems he might have got it right again with all the 70s/80's setting and this time probably with a better budget. If he has executed it well, it can be a gangster movie Raees failed to be. Great to see Arjun Rampal in such a role, and looking forward to Farhan's cameo as Dawood.
My Fav Trailer : Daddy


Simran (September 15)
directed by Hansal Mehta, starring Kangana Ranaut

Plot : 
A Gujarati housekeeping lady in the US allows ambition to get the better of her and gets involved in a world of crime.
What To Look For : 
The teaser was fun filled, not sure if that's how the entire film would be. Because if that's the case then that would remind me of Leonardo's 'Catch me if you can' where protoganist was doing wrong activities and yet we rooted for him to escape everytime. Have liked Kangana's previous 2 performances but can't say the same about the films. In that way, its a important film for her and also her first since the highly talked Nepotism (where I am on her side) story, or the dispute over writing credits for this film itself. Hope her acting and films will do the talking here, rather than controversies. Aligarh had Hansal back in top form which I felt missing in 'Citylights', the plot with Kangana in lead makes me think he has a winner in hands here. Hope I am proven right! And also looking forward to Amaal Malik's music.
My Fav Trailer : Simran


Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (November 3)
directed by Luv Ranjan, starring Kartik Aaryan, Nushrat Bharucha, Sunny Singh Nijjar

Plot :
Rom-com and love triangle, based in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.
What To Look For :
Lots of fun moments. Kartik-Nushrat pair will be in 4th movie in a row with Luv Ranjan as director, and I have liked all his films till now. While Sunny who seemed weak link in trailers for 'Pyar ka Punchnama2' turned out to be the pleasant surprise performer of that movie, keen to see how he backs it up in this movie. I do hope though there's no monologue again for Kartik, won't mind a spoof where they make fun of it instead in the movie or maybe keep that for 3rd part of PKP.  No trailer has been out yet, but its title (which does still sound wierd) annoucement was pretty hilarious. Can check it, here.


102 Not Out (December 1)
directed by Umesh Shukla, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor

Plot : 
About a man who wants to break the record of the longest living man in the world which is held by a guy from China who is 118 years old.
What To Look For : 
Umesh Shukla is adapting it from a successful Gujarati play, much like was case in 'Oh My God', which is a good news. Because his next movie 'All Is Well' was forgettable one. Watching Amitabh Bachchan play 102 yr old person with Rishi Kapoor as his son who is 75 yrs old, itself makes this film look so unique. I think we are in for a treat from both veteran actors here!


Omerta 
directed by Hansal Mehta, starring Rajkumar Rao

Plot : 
About british born terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh known for his involvement in the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002, and also covers a host of terrorist activities including 26/11 through the eyes of Omar.
What To Look For :
Has to be 1st outright negative role Rajkumar is doing, even 'Love Sex Aur Dhokha' and 'Ragini MMS' had only shades of it. And it makes me really excited, how brilliant it would be if he pulls it off doing a role completely opposite of 'Shahid'. The story will not only show the mindset of terrorists but also how educated people get radicalised. And based on real events, so chances of another hard-hitting movie from Hansal Mehta is on. Its a political thriller, release date not out yet.. maybe in Nov-Dec or next yr.


Tiger Zinda Hai (December 22)
directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, starring Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Angad Bedi

Plot : 
Sequel to 'Ek Tha Tiger' and based on a real incident.
What To Look For : 
Since its a sequel, there's no need to develop both Salman and Katrina characters, chances of more action sequences increase. Unless the real incident they are making film on, turns to be some message spreading type which I hope isn't the case. Kabir Khan in earlier film gave hope of a Jason Bourne kind action, which was there in 2 action set pieces. And Ali Abbas Zafar has already proved with 'Sultan' that he also very much like Kabir can handle Salman's stardom and make it work to the film's advantage quality wise. If he repeats that here, then I think we will have best possible end to the year at films. Also, keen to know what part Angad Bedi plays here.

Other Films I will keep an eye on : 

Lipstick Under My Burkha (even though it doesn't look like my kind of movie, the controversy attached to it and the bold trailer plus Konkona-Ratna Pathak in starcast keeps me interested. And like that 'le li le li jaan' song)
Indu Sarkar (Kriti Kulhari is the only reason I wanna watch this one, Madhur Bhandarkar hasn't done a single good movie since Fashion so can't expect much from him)
Gurgaon (always happy when I see Pankaj Tripathi get a bigger role which I assume is the case here, and the trailer looked pretty good too)
Love Sonia (a hollywood production starring Sunny pawar, Mrunal Thakur, Rajkumar Rao, Richa Chadda, Freida Pinto, Manoj Bajpayee, Anupam Kher, Adil Hussain, and based on young girl's journey through the world of international sex trafficking, inspired by real life events, could this be another Lion?)
Newton (starring RajkumarRao, Pankaj Tripathi and Anjali Patil, a good dark political comedy is possible)
A Gentleman (didn't like the trailer and also director duo Raj-DK last movie 'Happy Ending' didn't work for me... but the previous two films to that were really good, if they can showcase some of that here then maybe some hope is there)
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz (trailer revealed too much for me, and found it good in parts so dont have any expectations other than Nawazuddin making it a decent watch)
Baadshaho (May this be Milan Luthria's comeback movie, didn't like 'The Dirty Picture' and 'OUATIMD' was all Akki show, nothing else...Starcast of Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Ileana DCruz, Sanjay Mishra, Vidyut Jammwal and Esha Gupta, with Rajat Arora punchlines already looking good in teaser)
Kaalakaandi (starring Saif Ali Khan, Vijay Raaz, Deepak Dobriyal, Kunaal Roy Kapur.. from writer of 'Delhi Belly', a dark thrilling comedy, about 6 lost souls in Mumbai... want it to be good just for Saif alone)
Secret Superstar (starring Zaira Wasim, and Aamir Khan in a cameo.. story about a muslim girl who wants to be a singer but her father doesn't approve it. Zaira did really well in Dangal, but this will be a longer role, would love to see how she does it.. love the Aamir line in teaser, hope he has more such liners in movie)
Lucknow Central (Set against backdrop of jail, Farhan Akhtar plays a prisoner who forms a band with other jail inmates, also starring Diana Penty, Deepak Dobriyal, Inaamul Haq, Rajesh Sharma and Ronit Roy.. plot doesn't excite me specially Farhan in a music band again but strong supporting starcast may make it work)
Judwaa 2 (for father-son David Dhawan-Varun Dhawan duo, who gave decent laughs in their 1st outing 'Main Tera Hero', its a sequel to old Judwaa, double role of Varun with Taapsee Pannu and Jacqueline Fernandez, possibility of a laughter ride is on if its the 90's David Dhawan we get as director)
Golmaal Again (Not a fan of Rohit Shetty or Golmaal series, but have a feeling this one will be good minus the unwanted car crashing, with Ajay, Parineeti, Arshad, Tabu and most of cast retained from last movie)
Chef (Airlift director Raja Krishna Menon's next movie, and remake of Hollywood film, that was so lovable mainly for father-son interactions, Saif-Svar will have to be on same lines, I hope it turns out close to the original if not better, and ofcourse a foodie movie to remember)
Ittefaq (expecting Sonakshi and Akshay Khanna to impress, but how good movie will be is solely on Siddharth Malhotra's shoulder, if he can pull it off then it can be a very good remake with a different climax, else another forgettable remake)
Padmavati (usually Sanjay Leela Bhansali movie is among most anticipated films for me, but I am now tired of him doing history based movies and repeating Ranveer-Deepika pairing.. more interested to see Shahid rather here and the music, hope his next movie is the Sahir Ludhianvi one)
Baazaar (just to see how Saif and Chitrangda pairing works, stock market bores me to death so not sure if I would find the movie appealing)
Tumhari Sulu (Manav Kaul has been impressive in supporting roles, now he is in a lead role opposite Vidya Balan, and its a light hearted comedy with Vidya playing housewife who turns a rj doing late night show, hopefully turns out to be entertaining)
Parmanu - The Story of Pokhran (based on the nuclear test conducted at Pokhran in 1998, starring John Abhraham and Diana Penty, directed by Abhishek Sharma who has done only comedies previously, would be a challenge if he can get this action thriller right)


Hope most of these films mentioned here, and others I missed out on.. turn out to be very good. Banking on the 2nd half of this year to give us super awesome movies that we haven't really got till now.

Most Awaited Movies : Hollywood

With half year goneby, here's my list of 10 awaited hollywood movies that are yet to release.

P.S : The release dates are subjective to change. 



Wonder Woman (June 2)
directed by Patty Jenkins, starring Gal Gadot, Chris Pine

Plot : 
Diana unaware of her full powers sets to save the world.
What To Look For : 
DC movies have been no where close to Marvel, and to be frank even the trailers have rarely made me excited for their movies. But Wonder Woman's every trailer has been really good and I totally love the final trailer, thereby having huge expectations. Even if its not among best superhero films, I want it to be good enough that I can say its a movie you can watch any number of times. Gal Gadot was actually the only best thing in Batman vs Superman movie, so a film with her in main lead does sound very good, I hope the villain character is appealing enough too. And keen to see chemistry of Chris Pine and Gal Gadot together.
My Fav trailer - Wonder Woman


It Comes At Night (June 30)
directed by Trey Edward Shults, starring Joel Edgerton, Christopher Abbott, Carmen Ejogo

Plot :
An un-natural threat terrorizes the world, while a man has his wife and son secure within a desolate home. But safety of his family is put to test when a desperate young family arrives seeking refuge.
What To Look For : 
A24 are known for backing different movies that turn out to be mostly of great quality. Expecting not a routine horror movie with jump scares, and as long as the background score isn't loud (like was the case in 'The Witch'), I think movie won't disappoint me despite knowing that the early reviews are quite mixed though. And Joel Edgerton has been very impressive off-late, specially liked him in 'Loving' and 'The Gift'.
My Fav Trailer : It Comes At Night


Baby Driver (June 30)
directed by Edgar Wright, starring Ansel Elgort, Lily James, Jamie Foxx, Kevin Spacey, Jon Hamm, Eiza Gonzalez 

Plot : 
Persuaded to work for a crime boss, a young getaway driver 'Baby' finds himself taking part in a heist doomed to fail.
What To Look For : 
Last saw Ansel in 'The Fault in our Stars' and very much loved his performance. Going by the trailers, expecting a full on entertainer. Story wise I don't see too much to love about, but if action and soundtrack are spot on, its gonna be a very stylish and coolest movie of the year.
My Fav Trailer : Baby Driver


Spiderman : Homecoming (July 7)
directed by Jon Watts, starring Tom Holland, Robert Downey Jr, Michael Keaton, Laura Harrier, Zendaya

Plot :
Tony Stark who is new mentor of Peter advices him to be a friendly neighbourhood spiderman but he wants to be more. And when a threat in name of Vulture arrives, Peter not only has to prove his skills but make sure his loved ones don't fall in any danger.
What To Look For :
Tobey Maguire spidey series has been my favorite till date. Andrew Garfield was likeable in next series but the films were pretty dull specially the 2nd one. Now with this 3rd series involving Tom Holland, the trailers have given a feeling of a teenager casted rightly with the tone kept more light-hearted probably aiming for a popcorn entertainer than a dark superhero movie (unless they gonna surprise with something else in movie). As long as I get entertained fully, I don't mind this. Plus despite being a great admirer of Robert Downey I want his screen time to be less, let Tom Holland have all the glory and looking at trailers I do feel he won't disappoint. And hopefully Michael Keaton would be impressive too as villianeous Vulture. Also keen to see the love interest of Peter played by Laura Harrier, and what role Zendaya has. I like the fact that this series doesn't start from origin like how Peter got powers or Uncle Ben death (though I won't mind a flashback scene having that responsibility dialogue).
My Fav trailer : Spiderman : Homecoming


War for the Planet of the Apes (July 14)
directed by Matt Reeves, starring Andy Serkis, Terry Notary, Amiah Miller, Karin Konoval, Woody Harrelson

Plot : 
Caesar and his apes go to war against army of humans led by Colonel to avenge his kind and provide a good future for planet of apes.
What To Look For : 
Loved both films in this series a lot.  The trailers suggests movie may explore humans vs apes and apes vs apes just like 2nd part did. Also have a bad feeling Caesar may die if this is last movie in series. Maurice also this time might have a larger role. Little girl Nova bonding with apes should be important part of plot too, not sure if its connected in some way with last 2 films. Want Woody Harrelson have a larger role unlike Gary Oldman in 2nd part of franchise. Very much looking forward to see how much emotionally moving the movie turns out to be, expectations are very high and strong contender to be my favourite movie of year.
My Fav trailer : War for the Planet of the Apes


Dunkirk (July 21)
directed by Christopher Nolan, starring Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, Cilian Murphy, Fionn Whitehead, Mark Rylance, Harry Styles

Plot : 
Evacuation of about 400,000 allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Empire, Canada and France, who have got trapped at Dunkirk with Germany army after them, during World War II.
What To Look For : 
Nolan in a interview told the story is simple (for him it always is), and will be narrated in 3 points of view, from the sea, the beach (land) and the air (planes). So easily can expect some exciting three way cuts building drama and tension, something he is best at. Also, since its Nolan, it won't be a regular war movie, the various emotions of men trapped and how they survive gonna be explored. Question is, can Nolan maintain his 100% record of not giving any average movie in his career yet? With trustable actors like Hardy, Rylance and Murphy, I am keen to see Whitehead and Styles if they got decent screen-time or not.
My Fav Trailer : Dunkirk


A Ghost Story (August 11)
directed by David Lowery, starring Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara

Plot : 
A recently deceased, white sheeted ghost returns to his suburban home to try to reconnect to his bereft wife as the movie explores legacy, love, loss and the enormity of existence.
What To Look For : 
Another A24 movie in my list, the trailer was so beautiful that you can sense a very moving movie along with some nice comical moments. I would like story after Casey's character death in movie get a longer screen time. Not sure if their performances would be oscar level, but expecting a lot from both Casey and Rooney here.
My Fav Trailer : A Ghost Story


Blade Runner 2049 (October 6) 
directed by Denis Villeneuve, starring Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas, Jared Leto

Plot : 
Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K, unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what's left of society into chaos. K's discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard, a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.
What To Look For : 
Some stunning visuals from cinematographer Roger Deakins in the trailer. For me Denis Villeneuve in very short time has become a director whose movies I anticipate a lot, and starcast doesn't matter. Here, the starcast is big too, with Ryan, Harrison and Jared together, expecting Denis to deliver once again. Only thing I need to do is, watch the previous blade runner movie before october!
My Fav Trailer : Blade Runner 2049


Thor : Ragnarok (October 27)
directed by Taika Waititi, starring Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson 

Plot : 
Thor held captive on the planet of Sakaar without his hammer, must win a gladiator fight with his friend Hulk to be released back to Asgard and stop the ruthless Hela.
What To Look For : 
Among all superheroes, Thor has been my least liked one even though I quite loved 1st movie.  Now with the 3rd movie coming, its trailer was something that made me put it on repeat mode for days. It suggests that we may have a very entertaining Thor movie this time around with a powerful villain and ofcourse expecting Loki at some stage go against Thor. And more than Thor vs Hulk fight which I think won't consume too much screen time, its Thor vs Hela I am looking forward to most, also how this movie gonna connect to next Avengers movie!
My Fav Trailer : Thor : Ragnarok


Paddington 2 (December 29) 
directed by Paul King, starring Ben Whishaw (voiceover), Hugh Grant, Sally Hawkins, Hugh Bonneville, Julie Walters, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin

Plot : 
Paddington buys a present for his Aunt Lucy's 100th birthday but it gets stolen. Now he and Brown family must catch the thief.
What To Look For : 
Totally loved 1st part. As long as they keep the focus on Paddington and not bring unwanted sub-plots, it should work. I have a feeling this will be a good movie with plenty of laughs. Paddington's various jobs and then search for the thief should give enough to enjoy.
My Fav Trailer : Paddington 2

Other films that didn't make my list but have a chance of being good if not great :

The Beguiled (got very good response at Cannes, directed by Sofia Coppola.. though I didn't exactly love trailer.. maybe film won't disappoint)
Wind River (screen-writer of Sicario and Hell or High Water, Taylor Sheridan takes up direction for 2nd time, starring Jeremy Renner playing a FBI agent investigating a murder along with Elizabeth Olsen, sounds good)
Annabelle : Creation (David Sandberg's next after 'Lights Out' which was a fairly good movie with well used jump-scares. Trailers suggest a better horror movie than 1st part, so hopes definately are there)
American Made (I don't know if its good thing or bad, to say this didn't look like a routine Tom Cruise movie from trailer, plus the setting reminds of Leonardo's Wolf of Wall Street)
Detroit (based on 1967 detroit riots, Kathryn Bigelow might have another hard-hitting movie after Zero Dark Thirty)
The Dark Tower (Just interested for Idris Elba vs Matthew McConaughey scenes, if I get more than that then will be very pleased)
The Glass Castle (Brie Larson, Naomi Watts, Woody Harrelson in a dysfunctional family story with a pretty decent first trailer)
Good Time (directed by Safdie brothers, the trailer had some gorgeous night cinematography and also starring Robert Pattinson, expect a thrilling crime drama that I hope is gripping)
Logan Lucky (two brothers attempting to pull off a heist during NASCAR race, directed by Steven Soderbergh starring Daniel Craig, Adam Driver, Channing Tatum.. trailer looked fun, possibility of a good entertainer)
Kingsman :The Golden Circle (trailer was likeable, had loved previous part for its excellent humor and action, if this one delivers same way then definately in for a treat)
Stronger (trailer was pretty emo and that was also a worry specially 2nd half of it, will watch for Jake but hope film is good too)
Okja (trailer was nice, and film got good response at Cannes, plus there's Jake Gyllenhaal in it)
Euphoria (sisters in conflict, depicting their suffering and joy, as they journey to a mystery destination through Europe, the story and Alicia Vikander playing one of sister makes me interested)
Last Flag Flying (didn't see Richard Linklater's last movie, maybe this will be the film to find my lost love for him after 'Boyhood')
Coco (pixar's animated movie on a 12 yr old boy who dreams to be a musician, finds himself in the land of the dead, embarking a journey towards a century old mystery and family reunion, trailers gave a good vibe similar to Kubo from last year)
Under The Silver Lake ('It Follows' director David Robert Mitchell's next, starring Andrew Garfield.. sounds really good)
Mary Magdalene (directed by Garth Davis, last year's 'Lion' fame and starring Rooney Mara as title character, more than enough to be interested)
Wild Life (starring Jake Gyllenhaal, story adapted from novel about a boy who witnesses his parents marriage falling apart after his mom finds another man)
You Were Never Really Here (directed by Lynne Ramsay, starring Joaquin Phoenix, the story has somewhat resemblance to 'Taxi Driver', got a pretty good response at Cannes, would love if its insane kind of film)
Unicorn Store (just to see how Brie Larson's directorial debut goes)
Slice (about a mysterious outlaw framed for a killing spree that targets unsuspecting pizza delivery boys, coming from A24 it has potential to be very different and good)
Wonder Wheel (Woody Allen movie, starring Kate Winslet and Justin Timberlake, who knows if Woody finds his mojo back)
The Commuter (Jaume Collet Serra last film 'The Shallows' wasn't as good as I wanted it to be but still likeable. Starring Liam Neeson and Conjuring duo Patrick-Vera, can be interesting movie, will wait for trailer though)


Hoping these films and the rest that didn't get a mention here, turn out to be super duper awesome.. 2nd half of this year badly needs it.

Recap 2016 : Performances

Here's a look at all the performances of last year in varous categories, who took the top honors and who missed out.

Neerja and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil snatching wins in 7 categories each. With Ae Dil almost sweeping Music section with exception of Female playback singer. While Kapoor & Sons and Ms Dhoni The Untold Story with 4 and 3 wins respectively.

Presenting the winners along with the list of nominees in each category. Just a reminder, its entirely my personal opinion based list.



Best Actor Male : Sushant Singh Rajput (Ms Dhoni The Untold Story)

• Aamir Khan (Dangal)
• Manoj Bajpai (Aligarh)
• Randeep Hooda (Sarbjit)
• Ranbir Kapoor (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil)

Not just for the brilliant mannerisms that totally resembled Dhoni, its the way Sushant handles the 1st half that deals with initial struggle of Dhoni while trying to get selected for Indian team that made me love his performance. Plus, I have loved Sushant's performance in every film he has done till date. Aamir Khan sadly comes 2nd, despite a strong performance in Dangal. While Manoj and Randeep are almost equal 3rd for me, and its a surprise that Randeep performance was hardly given due at any award shows which it deserved and I say that having not loved Sarbjit. Best actor nominee list is always incomplete without Ranbir, too good a actor to leave out. While Akshay Kumar just missed out for his good performance in Airlift (not Rustom, dear National awards). And Amitabh Bachchan has been highly over-rated at award shows for his performance in Pink, not worthy of top5 at all, I would instead prefer his Te3n act.


Best Actor Female : Anushka Sharma (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil)

• Radhika Apte (Phobia)
• Alia Bhatt (Dear Zindagi)
• Vidya Balan (Kahaani 2)
• Sonam Kapoor (Neerja)

Will come as a surprise for many, but I totally loved Anushka in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and I had tweeted too that its her 3rd best career performance since Band Baaja Baraat and NH10. There's just too much in her 'Alizeh' character, the kind of filminess, romantic, emotional, friendly, sarcastic, rude but still a lovable girl. And Minus the bald look though, only not likeable aspect of her in film. Radhika Apte was easy choice at 2nd, she was wonderfully awesome in Phobia portraying the terror she goes through as if trapped inside a room. I didn't love the character of Alia in Dear Zindagi but her performance was too good to ignore. And Sonam had to be there in list, afterall its rare when you see Sonam act, which she did in Neerja. Unfortunately, Swara Bhaskar misses out, she was awesome in Nil Battey Sannata.


Best Director : Ram Madhvani (Neerja)

• Shakun Batra (Kapoor & Sons)
• Hansal Mehta (Aligarh)
• Nitish Tiwari (Dangal) 
• Karan Johar (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil) 

It has to be some excellent direction if you get to see Sonam perform so well in acting department, Ram Madhvani uses drama and emotions very well along with the bravery act of character Neerja. Shakun Batra gave glimpse of how subtle he can be in the rom-com 'Ek main aur ekk tu', and with Kapoor & Sons, he lives upto the expectations, a film that shows a dysfunctional family, that finds it tough to be happy together. Any other director would had made it very over the top melodrama, but Shakun keeps it so subtle that at times you feel he should had kept atleast one complete breakdown scene in movie, but I am still happy without it. Nitish Tiwari got named as new Raju Hirani for a commercial entertainer movie that gives a message, would be interesting to see his work in next movie now. Meanwhile, Karan Johar gave his career's best and most matured movie, beating his last best 'Kabhi Alvida na Kehna'.


Best Film : Kapoor & Sons 

• Dangal
• Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
• Neerja 
• Pink 

Already written on them, here


Best Supporting Actor Male : Fawad Khan (Kapoor & Sons)

• Rajat Kapoor (Kapoor & Sons)
• Rajkumar Rao (Aligarh)
• Shahrukh Khan (Dear Zindagi) 
• Kumud Mishra (Airlift)

I won't go into the debate of whether Fawad should be in supporting or lead category, I loved his act in the film and thereby he wins in this category. Sadly, the political angle of our country means, we will miss him in future a lot. Rajat Kapoor was equally convincing in his performance, always been a great actor. To see Shahrukh in supporting category is in a way pleasant surprise, that means he is trying something different and it is working in terms of his performances atleast even if the films are not upto the mark. Kumud had a big role to play in Airlift even if with less screen time, think of it how the mission would had failed miserably if he didn't try to convince people at his side to help the Indians in Kuwait. Rajesh Sharma and Pankaj Tripathi were so lovable in MS Dhoni The Untold Story and Nil Battey Sannata respectively, unfortunately couldn't make to my top5.


Best Supporting Actor Female : Shabana Azmi (Neerja)

• Kirti Kulhari (Pink)
• Ratna Pathak Shah (Kapoor & Sons)
• Sakshi Tanwar (Dangal)
• Aishwarya Rai (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil) 

Fairly easy choice, and not surprised to see Shabana Azmi win at every award show (atleast our awards are right in some category). That climax speech by Shabana where she is trying to balance her emotions at feeling proud of her daughter and missing her at same time, was alone enough to make Shabana top this category. I didn't see Kirti Kulhari to be the one I would talk of more from Pink, with Tapsee Pannu as main lead, but she was so good in almost all her dialogue scenes, specially those 2 scenes, one where she on phone changes from soft compromising tone to angry go to hell tone with Rajveer, and the courtroom scene where she ends up getting frustrated and accepting they took money. Sakshi Tanwar despite having very few dialogues in movie, you could just see her emote through her eyes all the time, and to be able to be so noticeable in a Aamir Khan movie, just tells about her performance. Aishwarya Rai, looked damn gorgerous and for a change didn't ham like her last 2 movies, for me this is her comeback movie. The scene where she tells Ayan, that its in our own hands when to end or go away from love, was her best moment from film. Yashaswini Dayama misses out in my list, she was very sweet in her friendly act of Phobia, that included a scene where her tshirt said 'bhoot raja bahar aaja'.


Best Actor in a Comic Role : Rishi Kapoor (Kapoor & Sons)

• Varun Dhawan (Dishoom)
• Akshay Kumar (Housefull 3)
• Lisa Haydon (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil)
• Piyush Mishra (Happy Bhag Jayegi) 

Rishi Kapoor was hilarious throughout the movie, but the irony is his most funny scene, the one in trailer where he asks the guy if he doesn't have a mother, that laugh out loud moment didn't make me laugh at all, and kudos to Shakun for that, tension of movie is so high that a great comedy scene makes no impact. Special mention to the opening 'marne ki acting' act he does. Varun Dhawan I feel is getting typecasted in doing non-stop comedies, but then as long as he is making you laugh during the movie, you can't really complain much. Lisa Haydon's 'vaatavaran' is already a regular used word for people now. And Piyush Mishra's imaginary world where he wants plenty of well known Indian personalities to be Pakistani made for a great laugh.


Best Actor in a Negative Role : Jim Sarbh (Neerja)

• Nawazuddin Siddiqui (Raman Raghav 2)
• Manav Vij (Udta Punjab) 
• Tahir Raj Bhasin (Force 2)
• Akshay Khanna (Dishoom) 

Playing the terrorist Khaleel, Jim Sarbh was very menacing and uncontrollable for most part in the hijacked plane. Love the scene where he feels frustrated at following orders from his head as he believes other way out. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is powerful and very creepy in his act, watch out scene where he is making chicken dish while having his sister's family trapped in their own home. Tahir Raj Bhasin was good but it was such a dejavu of Mardani act, hopefully he would not make it a hat-trick of similar roles. And good to see Akshay Khanna in a movie, he had less screen-time sadly but was very impressive in it.


Best Music : Pritam Chakraborty (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil) 

• Amit Trivedi (Fitoor)
• Pritam Chakraborty (Dangal)
• Clinton Cerejo (Te3n)
• Armaan Malik (Ms Dhoni The Untold Story)

Already written on them, here

Best Lyricist : Amitabh Bhattacharya, channa mereya (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil) 

• Amitabh Bhattacharya, haanikarak bapu (Dangal)
• Manoj Muntashir, besabriyaan (Ms Dhoni The Untold Story)
• Irshad Kamil, jag ghoomeya (Sultan)
• Sayeed Qadri, ji huzoori (Ki & Ka)

Was tough to choose between Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Dangal, but in both cases it was Amitabh Bhattacharya's lyrics. Channa Mereya may not be my fav song like it is for most people but I did love the lyrics. Specially like the line 'dil ke sandukoon mein, mere acche kaam rakhna'. While Haanikarak Bapu had some hilarious lyrics. Manoj's lyrics in Besabriyaan were quite motivational. Irshad Kamil delivers yet again in a romantic track, while Sayeed Qadri made Ji huzoori a lot more special with his lyrics. I love Dangal title track lyrics, but it misses out in my list.


Best Playback Singer Male : Arijit Singh, ae dil hai mushkil (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil) 

• Amit Mishra, bulleya (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil)
• Armaan Malik, bol do na zara (Azhar)
• Daler Mehndi, dangal (Dangal)
• Arijit Singh, salamat (Sarbjit)

The day I heard only small portion of the song in 1st teaser of the film, I knew I would love this song and probably have Arijit as my winner in this category. Along with a great composition and good lyrics, its Arijit vocals that brings additional pain to this track. Amit Mishra really excels in Bulleya, specially the high pitch part. Even though I like the composition, but if it was any other singer I won't have loved Bol do na zara as much as I did due to Armaan Malik, his voice suits soft romantic numbers to the core. Whether he shows the consistency of Sonu nigam/Kay Kay or not, remains to be seen.


Best Playback Singer Female : Palak Muchhal, kaun tujhe (MS Dhoni The Untold Story)

• Sona Mohapatra, qatl e aam (Raman Raghav 2)
• Sunidhi Chauhan, just go to hell dil (Dear Zindagi)
• Neha Bhasin, jag ghoomeya (Sultan)
• Jonita Gandhi, gilehriyaan (Dangal)

One of the rare categories, where I feel every single nominee deserves to be a winner. Palak Mucchal I choose in the end, for her vocals in Kaun Tujhe made you feel for the deep love the girl has for the guy. Sona Mohapatra voice brings calmness to an otherwise very mad track. Neha Bhasin voice gives that freshness which male version missed. And Jonita Gandhi who was singer of the year for her numerous great songs, with Gilehriyaan being one of them. Kanika Kapoor had to miss out, despite the fact that Da Da Dasse was best song of her career.


Best Debut Male : Jim Sarbh (Neerja)

• Diljit Dosanjh (Udta Punjab)
• Aparshakti Khurrana (Dangal)
• Aditya Seal (Tum Bin 2)
• Harshvardhan Kapoor (Mirzya)

Jim Sarbh was a straightforward choice here, his villaneious act in Neerja as a debut was exceptional, look forward to see him in Raabta next. Diljit Dosanjh was one of few things that I had loved about Udta Punjab. While Aditya Seal performance was the only good aspect about Tum Bin2. And sorry Harshvardhan Kapoor, only reason I had to include you in my list was, I couldn't find any other decent debut performances I had seen in the year.


Best Debut Female : Disha Patani (MS Dhoni The Untold Story)

• Fatima Sana Sheikh (Dangal) 
• Shriya Pilgaonkar (Fan)
• Yashaswini R Dayama (Phobia & Dear Zindagi)
• Sobhita Dhulipala (Raman Raghav 2)

Disha Patani completely fitted the character of a innocent girl fallen in love with a new upcoming Indian cricketer on the rise. Hard to say if she would be able to pull off tough roles, but very much satisfied with her performance here. Fatima Sana Sheikh was able to give complete takkar to Aamir Khan in Dangal, be it her rebel act while being at the camp and then that standout akhaada scene with Mahavir. Shriya Pilgaonkar had a small role, but was able to leave a mark with her good performance, I specially love the way she silently reacts to Gaurav's mad obsession of Aryan as if telling how stupid this person is. Yashashwini  R Dayama is so cute, and both her roles had her in friendly supporting characters, would be nice to see her in a different role next. Sobhita Dhulipala was able to give a good performance despite a character that was very weakly written. Special Mention to Manini Chadha who was quite likeable in Kahaani2.


Best Debut Director : Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari (Nil Battey Sannata) 

• Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury (Pink) 

Kind of wierd, but I could find only 2 eligible nominees. Ashwiny Iyer direction was terrific in a movie where she never went into melodrama territory and made sure the mood of film is mostly lighthearted. While Aniruddha Roy was also almost as good, only complaint I had was with 2nd half where the court-room drama could had been more serious with less of the entertaining bits even though it still worked mostly.


Best Story : Maneesh Sharma (Fan)

• Pawan Kripalani, Arun Sukumar, Pooja Ladha Surti (Phobia)
• Nitesh Tiwari (Nil Battey Sannata) 
• Krishna Hariharan, Gauri Shinde, Kausar Munir (Dear Zindagi)
• Karan Johar (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil) 

The film may not have worked for me, due to that messy 2nd half. But story of fan was always exciting one, me being a firm believer of worshipping an actor is plain stupid activity, and then to see a film story based on a ardent fan who worships a particular actor and can go to any extent for him. When that obsession turns into hatred, what would such a fan do, oh wish they had explored this concept, or I hope someone else in future does it. While Phobia had an interesting concept too, a real life incident forcing this girl to have a phobia where she can't step out of her house, not even open door when bill rings. And in this case, it was executed pretty well too.


Best Scene : End part of Cutiepie song to the pre Channa Mereya song (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil) 

• Geeta gets into a wrestling fight with her father Mahavir in akhaada (Dangal)
• Long conversation between Aryan and Gaurav at police station where Gaurav tells Aryan that without him, Aryan is nothing (Fan)
• Professor Siras having alcohol alone at his home at night while listening to classic 'aapki nazron ne samjha' and humming it (Aligarh)
• MS Dhoni waiting at platform and takes train back to Ranchi (MS Dhoni The Untold Story)

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil's scene is not just best of 2017, but among my all time fav scenes. To see Ayan faking happiness at Alizeh wedding, then the 'Ayan weds Alizeh' mirror scene followed by how he keeps looking at Alizeh in wedding dress, admiring her and soon the thought strikes that she is about to be someone's else and becomes heartbroken. Simply outstanding entire sequence! Dangal's scene where Geeta lets her childhood anger out while fighting with Mahavir in akhaada, where her father is angry too at her current behavior, makes for a hard tough fight viewing.


Best Jodi : Ranbir-Anushka (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil)

• Krrish-Hetal (Dhanak)
• Shahrukh-Alia (Dear Zindagi)
• Naseeruddin-Kalki (Waiting)
• Manoj-Rajkumar (Aligarh)

Was a straightforward choice for me, Ranbir-Anushka pairing may not have worked well in Bombay Velvet but in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, right from that first disco/pub scene, their chemistry was too good. I think people who didn't like the film (find those ppl wierd) would also agree as how brilliant they were, almost close to the level Ranbir-Deepika have while working together. Krrish-Hetal were hilarious, and sweet playing brother-sister where sister is shahrukh fan and brother is salman fan creating some great laughing moments. Unusual pairing but Shahrukh-Alia clicked mostly because they both played their age very well.


Best Trailer : Fitoor

• Dangal
• Raees
• Fan
• Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

Fitoor may have failed as a film, but it didn't in music and same the case here with trailer. I had loved the trailer, kept watching it on loop for many weeks. And even now when I have disliked the film, the trailer still looks so beautiful and romantic minus 'doodh maangoge' line. What a irony, best trailer isn't even available on youtube, makers of film deleted it, who knows if they intentionally did it. Dangal is close second, that created craze for Aamir's words regarding silver medal, Geeta and Babita's wrestling scenes looking good, and Daler Mehndi's inspirational title track. Gladly, the film lived upto the trailer's hype. Not the case though with Raees, the trailer was so fucking good, everyone including me felt its the best masala movie Shahrukh is doing since ages, all the dialoguebaazi, the angry avatar, laila item song of Sunny Leone and Nawazuddin as cop to counter Raees at every step, it was a trailer meant to be loved.  Raman Raghav 2 and MS Dhoni The Untold Story miss my list, and Special mention to Kapoor & Sons, whose trailer I didn't like at all when it came, but now that I love the film, its trailer is kinda of appealing.


Best Screenplay : Saiwyn Quadras (Neerja)

• Shakun Batra, Ayesha Devitre (Kapoor & Sons)
• Nikhil Mehrotra, Shreyas Jain, Piyush Gupta, Nitesh Tiwari (Dangal)
• Ritesh Shah (Pink) 
• Sujoy Ghosh (Kahaani 2)

Was a close one between Neerja and Kapoor & Sons. Neerja had slighty more gripping screenplay, keeps you engaged with the story directly focussing on night before the plane hack happens, all the emotional bonding Neerja has with her family and a guy who has feelings for her. And the simultaneous, planning of hijackers that is going on. Also, glad the past life of Neerja is shown in small flashbacks and serving a good purpose in taking the story forward. While Kapoor & Sons very well explored the dysfunctional punjabi family, and all the drama, fights and love they go through.


Best Dialogue : Ritesh Shah (Pink)

• Sudip Sharma (Udta Punjab)
• Nikhil Mehrotra, Shreyas Jain, Piyush Gupta, Nitesh Tiwari (Dangal) 
• Karan Johar, Niranjan Iyengar (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil) 
• Pranjal Choudhary, Neeraj Singh, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, Nitesh Tiwari (Nil Battey Sannata)

Loved most of the dialogues in Pink, be it regular conversations, or the ones Amitabh gets in court-room scenes which just about manages to not have a preachy feel. Udta Punjab was able to make the already good setting of a city getting addicted to drugs look more authentic with the dialogues, and as I said in one of my blogpost, despite not loving the film, in technical department it was really good.


Best Editing : Monisha R Baldawa (Neerja) 

• Shivkumar V Panicker (Kapoor & Sons)
• Namrata Rao (Kahaani 2)
• Meghna Manchanda Sen (Udta Punjab) 
• Bodhaditya Banerjee (Pink) 

Neerja had excellent editing, and wins from rest nominees very comfortably. Its not just the parallel cuts used at start with Neerja happily enjoying party at home against the terrorists going through final preparation on other hand. But the way a balloon burst is cut to bomb packing by terrorist. No idea if it was done intentionally during shooting or entirely edit table work. Monisha kept pace and rhthym of narration intact, I don't think a single scene felt unrequired or too long, some may argue if 'Maa' track was needed but it gives a nice feel to the already shown flashback and the tough situation in front. Kapoor & Sons is at no.2 alone for that special scene, where 3-4 parallel cuts are done, one is Tia telling Arjun about her parent incident, 2nd is Rahul finding truth about his dad, 3rd is Rahul's mom finding truth about her son. And once these 3 revealations end, we get 4th one involving truth about Rahul getting favour from her mom for a novel betraying Arjun. That entire parallel cutting was so on par with the way Nolan's editor usually cuts scenes in his films, like that interstellar sequence that begins with Matt Damon revealing his real identity. Or the famous Inception one where all dream levels from Limbo to present are one by one shown. Also, in those Nolan films and here in Kapoor & Sons case, another common thing is the use of great bg that enhances the drama even further.


Best Choreography : Bosco-Caesar, kaala chashma (Baar Baar Dekho)

• Vishnu Deva, tung lak (Sarbjit)
• Vaibhavi Merchant, jabra fan (Fan)
• Adil Shaikh, kar gayi chull (Kapoor & Sons)
• Farah khan, baby ko bass pasand hai (Sultan) 

To be honest, none of these 5 nominees are worth of winning but thats how last year was in this category. Choreographers need to come up with lot better work in 2017 for sure. Among these five, Bosco-Caesar was more likeable in Kaala Chashma. Tung Lak had nice punjabi steps, and Jabra fan also gave some funny fanatic steps on which Shahrukh danced.


Best Background Score : Sameer Uddin (Kapoor & Sons)

• Vishal Khurana (Neerja)
• Pritam Chakraborty (Dangal) 
• Julius Packiam (Sultan) 
• Mithoon (Shivaay) 

Bg of Kapoor & Sons was very good throughout the movie, be it the humming version of Bolna (which I prefer more than the song) or the immense dramatic moments in 2nd half. Neerja's bg was great in a sense that usually suffering movies or where the people's life are in danger every second, in such movies often bg is used to manipulate emotions but not so here. One particular bg in Shivaay was really awesome, pity it was used way too often in the film thereby reducing the impact.


Best Cinematography : Aseem Bajaj (Shivaay)

• Anay Goswami (Fitoor)
• Priya Seth (Airlift)
• Pawel Dyllus (Mirzya)
• Mitesh Mirchandani (Neerja)

Shivaay had great eye-catching cinematography, wish the movie was as good too. Same applies for Fitoor and Mirzya which were really well shot. Specially loved how beautiful Kashmir looked in Fitoor, almost making it as one of character of movie, and had a song on it too 'agar jannat hai kahin toh yahin pe hai hami asto'.


Best Action : Peter Fernandes, Junaid Sheikh (Shivaay)

• Suniel Rodrigues, Kecha Kammpakdee (Rocky Handsome)
• Sham Kaushal (Dangal)
• Kecha Kammpakdee, Javed Eijaz (Baaghi)
• Franz Spilhaus, Allan Amin (Force 2) 

Totally loved action sequences in Shivaay, and the special thing was the way it was shot and cut. Be it the car chasing one or mountain one (that resembles slightly with Baahubali1).  Rocky Handsome action sequences reminded me lot of John Wick, fast and hand to hand combat mostly, alas the story and performances weren't on the same level.


Best Art Direction : Aparna Sud, Anna Ipe (Neerja)

• Gautam S Mondal (Kapoor & Sons)
• Rupam Paul (Udta Punjab)
• Subrata Barik, Kaushik Das (Kahaani 2)
• Tiya Tejpal (Raman Raghav2) 

Neerja's art direction was great for the way they constructed the entire panem aircraft making it look real as most of the movie takes place there only.


Best Costumes : Manish Malhotra, Anaita Shroff, Samidha Wangnoo (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil)

• Niharika Bhasin, Manish Malhotra, Sanam Ratansi, Anaita Shroff, Akshay Tyagi (Fitoor)
• Arjun Bhasin (Baar Baar Dekho)
• Natascha Charak, Nikita Mohanty, Archana Walavalkar (Kapoor & Sons)
• Sheetal Sharma (Airlift) 

Totally adored the costumes in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, specially the ones for Anushka, yellow costume during trip scene plan and red costume during breakup song. Katrina looked gorgeous in the red outfit in Fitoor, and Aditya Roy Kapoor also never looked as great in previous movies. Baar Baar Dekho was actually the only movie where every next scene I waited to see their costumes more than where the boring story is leading to.

Special Mention - 

Child Actors 

• Suhani Bhatnagar, Zaira Wasim, Ritvik Sahore (Dangal)
• Krrish Chhabria, Hetal Gada (Dhanak)
• Ria Shukla (Nil Battey Sannata) 
• Zeeshan (MS Dhoni The Untold Story) 

Dangal child actors actually were the best part of the film for their cuteness 'teekha thoda kam hai papa' or their hilarious anger, and the frustration they show at their dad's stubborn behavior. In terms of  akhaada wrestling scenes, Zaira Wasim looked far better though. While Krrish and Hetal shared a brilliant chemistry as bro-sister in Dhanak who rightly had unique varying celeb idols, Shahrukh and Salman, hence making a case for some funny sequences, and apart from that also, they make you love them in entire movie with their acting. Fine acting by Ria Shukla, though the way her character is, you tend to dislike her in some parts of the movie. Zeeshan very much like Sushant has ditto mannerisms like Dhoni, specially the face expression while wicketkeeping.