19 Bollywood films to look forward to in 2019

The new year looks all set to be a doozy. Given below, in no particular order, are 19 films that I believe will end up defining Hindi cinema in 2019.

Uri: The Surgical Strike

Vicky Kaushal delivered some of the most remarkable and diverse performances of 2018 in Love Per Square Foot, Raazi, Lust Stories and Manmarziyaan. His presence alone should be reason enough to watch this film based on the surgical strike carried out by the Indian Army in 2016.

Sonchiriya

When Chambal meets Chaubey, sparks are destined to fly—and more so when Vishal Bhardwaj, Sushant Singh Rajput, Bhumi Pednekar and Manoj Bajpayee (to name but a few) get thrown into the mix as well.       

 Gully Boy

A musical drama that charts the coming-of-age of two street rappers who live in Maximum City, Gully Boy is directed by Zoya Akhtar and features Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt in the lead roles. As if that weren’t enough, the film was recently selected for screening in the prestigious “Berlinale Special” film category at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BfAnBchBCJw/?utm_source=ig_embed

Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar

Few modern Hindi directors pay as much attention to detail as Dibakar Banerjee does, and his latest film, described as a “romantic thriller black comedy”, should be an engaging enough watch, coming from a man who made memorable films such as Shanghai, Love Sex Aur Dhokha, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! and Khosla Ka Ghosla.

Badla

This remake of the 2016 Spanish thriller Contratiempo (English: The Invisible Guest) is helmed by none other than the man who made Kahaani, Sujoy Ghosh. Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Taapsee Pannu and Ali Faizal, this Red Chillies’ production has struck gold when it comes to assembling a stellar team.

Mental Hai Kya

Kanika Dhillon’s screenwriting prowess came to fore in both Manmarziyaan and Kedarnath this year, and I’m stoked to see what she comes up with in this black comedy featuring Kangana Ranaut and Rajkummar Rao that also happens to be directed by her husband and Telugu film director Prakash Kovelamudi.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Boyjl0Xhqz7/

Made in China

National Award winning director Mikhil Musale’s debut Hindi feature will star Rajkummar Rao as a down-in-the-dumps Gujarati businessman who pursues the allure of entrepreneurship, and looks all set to be a rousing, inspiring tale of enterprise and resolve.

Mission Mangal

This Akshay Kumar-starrer has been making waves for being the country’s first ever space film and will chronicle the story of India’s famous Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyan). As part of a newly-signed three-movie deal, this film will be co-produced by Fox Star Studios and Cape of Good Films.

Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota

One of the most well-received films during the 20th edition of the Mumbai Film Festival, Vasan Bala’s Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota is a film to watch out for. If its extremely intriguing trailer and the presence of newbie Radhika Madan are anything to go by, this one should be an absolute knockout.

Brahmastra

Hindi cinema might well have reserved its most potent weapon for the last. Ayan Mukerji’s latest film will not only be producer Karan Johar’s most ambitious project to date, but is also slated to be the first in an intended trilogy. Described by its director as “a commercial film with ancient elements,” Brahmastra will feature acting powerhouses Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Amitabh Bachchan together on the big screen for the first time.

Chhichhore

Nitesh Tiwari, the man behind Dangal, one of India’s greatest sports films of all time, returns to helm this comedy that stars Sushant Singh Rajput and Shraddha Kapoor.

The Sky Is Pink

Centred on the life of motivational speaker Aisha Chaudhary and her lifelong with pulmonary fibrosis, this Shonali Bose film has been written by arguably one of the finest screenwriters working in Hindi cinema today, Juhi Chaturvedi. Starring Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar and young revelation Zaira Wasim, the film is produced by Chopra herself as well as Siddharth Roy Kapur and UTV Group founder Ronnie Screwvala.

Panga

From barfis to kabaddi, director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s filmography has come a full circle indeed. Badhaai Ho actress Neena Gupta, Jassie Gill and Kangana Ranaut have all been brought on board this slice-of-life tale of family, feminism and fervour.

Photograph

Director Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox is one of the definitive Hindi films of the decade, and the auteur’s next film will have its world premiere during next year’s Sundance Film Festival. Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Sanya Malhotra make for a wonderfully eccentric leading pair, and this tender story of a struggling street photographer will almost certainly end up tugging at our already molten heartstrings.

Dream Girl

Precious little is known of this Balaji Motion Pictures production directed by Raaj Shaandilyaa, save for the fact that this year’s most accomplished performer Ayushmann Khurrana has been cast opposite Luv Ranjan-regular Nushrat Bharucha in what appears to be a delightful little oddball of a film.

Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare

If Lipstick Under My Burkha was one of the timeliest Hindi movies of 2016, this Alankrita Shrivastava-directed venture starring Konkona Sen Sharma and Bhumi Pednekar appears to be a more levitous, satirical take on gender equality.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo801zOBLt4/?utm_source=ig_embed

Super 30

Hrithik Roshan plays Anand Kumar, a mathematics whiz who makes it his life’s mission to help impoverished kids crack one of the most difficult undergraduate entrance examinations in the world. At first glance, it sounds like a preposterous casting choice—asking a hunk with the sculpted physique of a Greek God to portray a genius who indulges himself in the intricacies of skew-symmetric matrices and Cartesian coordinates—but Roshan’s natural charisma, coupled with Vikas Bahl’s flair for directing underdog tales should make for a reasonably effective rabble-rouser.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BnU36snhbzY/

Kalank

This historical drama film directed by Abhishek Varman has Karan Johar’s stamp all over it, from sweep to scale to swagger, and also boasts of one of the biggest star casts of 2019: Madhuri Dixit, Sonakshi Sinha, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Aditya Roy Kapur, Kunal Khemu and Sanjay Dutt.

https://twitter.com/karanjohar/status/986431712639897605?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Bombairiya

Radhika Apte plays Meghna, an unwitting victim of a beleaguering chain of events that unfolds once her mobile phone is stolen. Debutante filmmaker Pia Sukanya’s venture has a fresh but zany feel to it and is inarguably one to watch out for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTCUHIfiABY

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Shreehari H. is a lover of films and an even greater lover of writing.