
Last week was a bit of a dull trailer, but with ‘Thank You’ this week, the world cup-induced drought of films is officially over. With the excitement of cricket, it is doubtful if anyone even missed the movies, which doesn’t augur well for films. They have to compete with IPL too now, and if the film is like Game, it is sunk before it even gets a chance to breathe.
Still, if at all insatiable movie fans are looking forward to new releases, next week there’s ‘Teen Thay Bhai’, produced by Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra for newcomer Mrigdeep Singh Lamba. Starring Om Puri, Shreyas Talpade and Deepak Dobriyal (the sole saving grace of ‘Tanu Weds Manu’, no matter how much Kangna Ranaut preens), the film is about three brothers forced to come together by a clause in their grandfather’s will.
Dum Maro Dum must be the most publicised film in recent times; directed by Rohan Sippy, this Abhishek Bachchan (he needs a hit), Bipasha Basu, Rana Daggubati, Prateik-starrer that caused a controversy for messing up the great R.D. Burman number from Hare Rama Hare Krishna, is about cops and the drug mafia in Goa. Darsheel Safary’s ‘Taare Zameen Par’ sheen is starting to wear out – Satrajit Bhatkal’s Zokkomon is about a boy superhero. Surprisingly, Bollywood has not capitalised on the vacation season and made films for children, though Amole Gupte’s ‘Stanley Ka Dabba’ is expected in May and a film called ‘Chillar Party’, produced by UTV. (The kiddie segment is covered well by theatre and workshops.)
If Ekta Kapoor’s luck carries on, ‘Shor In The City’ by Raj Nidimori and ‘Krishna DK’, starring Tusshar Kapoor, Sendhil Ramamurthy and Preeti Desai, about three stories set during the Ganpati festival, will spring a surprise. The odd pairing of Vinay Pathak and Lara Dutta appearing in Shashant Shah’s ‘Chalo Dilli’, is about a mismatched pair forced to take a road trip. Onir’s I Am has a large and impressive ensemble cast, in a film that tells four stories with important issues at their core. Govinda fans will perhaps be glad to see him in the much delayed Naughty @ 40 Jagmohan Mundhra’s remake of Forty Year Old Virgin.
And while the summer is still on, Yash Raj Studio’s new youth wing will release a film called Luv Ka The End, starring Shraddha Kapoor and Tahaa Shah, directed by Bumpy (Bumpy?). Again, our producers have not attempted to cash in on this segment during vacation time, like Hollywood when dozens of films aimed at the teen market come out.
This looks after April… there is the long, hot month of May to survive!