From 'Pathaan' to 'Dunki', most anticipated Bollywood films of 2023

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Cirkus, the last big budget Bollywood film of the year 2022, miserably failed to impress the audience. All the marketing and promotions, and the livewire energy of Ranveer Singh in a double role could not help the film from tanking at the box office. The year 2022 has been a phenomenally bad one for Bollywood with most of the films failing to get the cash registers ringing. However, with a gamut of releases up its sleeve, 2023 looks interesting for the industry. Going by the trends, it looks like it is going to be an action-packed year for the Hindi film industry in 2023.

Romantic dramas releasing in 2023

From Deepika Padukone and Ananya Pandey-starrer Gehraiyaan to the multi-starrer Jugjugg Jeeyo, a chauvinistic dysfunctional comedy, 2022 witnessed some of the most unappealing releases in this genre. Hopes are high for 2023 as there is a line of releases in romantic genre lined up for the year, including three big budget films. Here are some of the most anticipated films in the genre.


Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahan: With Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt romancing each other on the big screen, this film from the Dharma stable is touted to be one of the biggest blockbusters this year. The romantic drama also stars Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Tota Roy Chowdhury and Churni Ganguly.


Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar: A romantic comedy from Luv Ranjan, the movie seem to have the potential to revive Shraddha Kapoor's ailing Bollywood career. The actor is far from tasting box office blockbuster success despite having been around for 12 years.


Satyaprem Ki Katha: Kartik Aaryan plays SatyaPrem and Kiara Advani plays his love interest Katha in this romantic drama, likely to be released on June 29. With Aaryan Bhool Bhulaiya 2 and Freddy, 2022 was a good year for Aaryan, and Satyaprem Ki Katha, directed by Sameer Vidwan, can become another feather in the actor's cap.

Bollywood action thrillers releasing in 2023

With seven films in this genre slated to release this year, there is a lot on offer for Bollywood action movie fans. However, the industry has seldom received praise for its treatment of action films and we can only hope that we get to see some "real stuff" that are on par with movies from other languages available on OTT platforms.

Pathaan: Siddharth Anand’s upcoming action thriller Pathaan will mark the return of Shah Rukh Khan. The fourth installment in YRF’s 'Spy Universe' also stars Deepika Padukone and John Abraham in the lead.

Jawan: Written and directed by Atlee, Jawan is an action thriller in which Shah Rukh Khan plays a double role. After Pathaan, this will be Khan's second film this year. Given that the superstar who ruled the 90s hasn't been able to deliver a single memorable hit recently, one can only hope that the tide turns in his favour. Jawan also stars Nayanthara, Vijay Sethupathi and Sanya Malhotra.

Animal: Director Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal will feature Ranbir Kapoor, Rashmika Mandanna, Parineeti Chopra, Anil Kapoor and Bobby Deol in key roles. The gangster drama explores the dynamics between the characters, bringing out their ‘animal’ instincts. Animal is an important release for Ranbir Kapoor after the debacle that Shamshera was.

Tiger 3: After Ek Tha Tiger and Tiger Zinda Hai, Tiger and Zoya will be back in the third installment of the espionage franchise, featuring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif in the lead. Given that Khan had no release last year, 2023 is crucial for him to reaffirm his 'Bhai-giri' via the Tiger franchise.

Kuttey: Last seen in Ek Villain Returns, which failed to come anywhere close to the original, Arjun Kapoor is in dire need of a film that can somehow save his fledgling career as an actor. Kuttey, directorial debut of Vishal Bharadwaj's son Aasmaan Bharadwaj, seems promising if the trailer is any indication of the things to come.

Mission Majnu: After failing to impress the audience with his 2021 release Shershaah and with Thank God that released in 2022, Sidharth Malhotra's next Mission Majnu will be a litmus test of his abilities as an actor who can deliver hits at the box office. Set in the 1970s, the movie is about an undercover Indian spy who takes on a deadly mission to expose a covert nuclear weapons program in the heart of Pakistan. Mission Majnu is set to premiere on January 20, 2023, in Netflix.

Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan: Salman Khan's Eid 2023 offer, Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan is directed by Farhad Samji. The film also stars Venkatesh and Pooja Hedge, and is backed by Salman’s mother Salma Khan under the banner of Salman Khan Films. Khan was last seen in Antim: The Final Truth which tanked at the box office.

Remakes of south films

With Bollywood remakes of South Indian movies failing to recreate the impact of the originals, one can only hope that the upcoming remakes do justice to the originals.

Shehzada: Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon will reunite after Luka Chupi for this remake of Trivikram Srinivas’s 2020 Telugu blockbuster Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo. Directed by Rohit Dhawan of Dishoom and Desi Boyz fame, the film also stars Paresh Rawal, Manisha Koirala, Ronit Roy and Sachin Khedekar.

The other releases include, Selfiee, Akshay Kumar's Hindi remake of the 2019 Malayalam-language comedy Driving License, featuring Prithviraj Sukumaran, and Bholaa, an official remake of Lokesh Kanagaraj’s 2019 Kollywood hit Kaithi. Directed by Ajay Devgn, the film revolves around a prisoner who is returning home after ten years of prison life to meet his young daughter.

Upcoming Bollywood movies based on real stories

It is hard to get real life stories wrong. However, when it comes to Bollywood, one can never tell. Here is a list of upcoming Bollywood movies in the true stories genre.

The vaccine war: Directed by Vivek Agnihotri, who attained commercial success with The Kashmir Files, The vaccine war is being hailed as a tribute to the struggles and dedication of the medical fraternity and scientists during Covid in 2020 and the race to manufacture India's indigenous vaccine, Covishield.

Maidaan: After a few interesting sports dramas/biopics released in the last two years, including Rashmi Rocket, Shabaash Mitthu, this year will see Maidan, a sports drama around football in India, directed by Amit Ravindernath Sharma. Based on the golden period of Indian football (1952-62), the star cast includes Priyamani, Rudranil Ghosh, Abhinay Raj Singh and Gajraj Rao.

Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway: This is a true story of an immigrant Indian couple whose children were taken away by Norwegian welfare services in 2011. Ashima Chibber’s film will star Rani Mukerji in the lead role of a mother who fights to get her children back.

Dunki: Shah Rukh Khan will come together with Rajkumar Hirani in the latter half of the year to deliver Dunki to the audience. The film revolves around the racket behind the illegal route known as Donkey Flight, used by Indians to immigrate to countries like Canada and USA. Hirani, the director of the Munnabhai films and 3 Idiots, is collaborating with Shah Rukh for the first time with Dunki.

Upcoming Bollywood biopics

Swatantra Veer Savarkar: The movie traces the journey of freedom fighter and social reformer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, popularly known as Veer Savarkar.

Actor Randeep Hooda, in a recent interview to THE WEEK, said he read a lot about Savarkar and understood him fully before agreeing to play the character. The actor has proved his ability to feature in biopics playing Sarbjit Singh and Charles Sobhraj.

Sam Bahadur: Directed by Meghna Gulzar, Sam Bahadur is the biopic of Sam Manekshaw, the chief of Army staff of the Indian Army during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War. Vicky Kaushal will slip into the shoes of Manekshaw, who was the first Indian army officer to be promoted to the rank of field marshal.



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