Will Bollywood surprise us in 2017?

Here's a quick checklist on films to watch out for in the new year

The slate's already been chalked up for 2017. Practically every week of the calendar year will see the release of a big-budget Bollywood film. But don't expect any radically dramatic surprises from the fare lined up for the New Year, unless, of course, you are optimistic enough to believe in the unexpected - or in pleasant surprises.
After the first month-end kicks off, Shah Rukh Khan is expected to be back in yet another film and, if all's well with the world, one more towards the year-end - a somewhat intriguing project in which he plays a dwarf (of the Kamal Haasan kind from Appu Raja, one knows not yet). Salman Khan will also be very much around with two biggies, while Akshay Kumar will continue his prolific run as well. In other words, times they aren't a changin', really.
That's show town largely maintaining the status quo and yet, once in a rare while, it can get unpredictable. The trend today is that there is no one dominant trend. Be that as it may, here's a pick of the top 10 movies from the mainstream Bollywood degchi to look forward to with fingers and toes crossed. May they get the quotient of quality entertainment right.
JOLLY LLB 2 (February 9): Director Subhash Kapoor returns to demystify the complicated and confusing ways of the courts of law, with Akshay Kumar taking over the good lawyer's brief from Arshad Warsi in the first part. Incidentally, Akshay is essaying the role of a lawyer for the first time, with Saurabh Shukla and Huma Qureshi for company in this pungent social satire.
RANGOON (February 23): Taking a break from tragedies adapted from Shakespeare, director Vishal Bhardwaj's triangular romantic drama, set against a war backdrop, features the threesome Kangana Ranaut, Saif Ali Khan and Shahid Kapoor, who's wont to experiment with the way he looks and dresses. Rumoured to be in the retro vein of Casablanca - the black-and-white Hollywood classic in which the chemistry between Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman was to die for - here's hoping (lots of hoping, I'm afraid) that Bhardwaj's take also sets the screen crackling.
BADRINATH KI DULHANIA (March 9): Another franchise flick, this is a follow-up to Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, also directed by Shashank Khaitan and produced by Karan Johar's Dharma Productions. Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt go through the kabhi fun kabhi obstacle-strewn route in this small-town to-wed-or-not-to-wed, feather-light entertainer. Please note that Varun has stated in print that this shaadi movie is very different from the first instalment, the characters are 'completely different' from the first edition. He has also stated that Alia Bhatt has evolved majorly as an actress. What about himself, though?
SARKAR 3 (March 16): Ram Gopal Varma's compulsive obsession with the ingredients of the underworld, family dissension, politics of sorts and, of course, Amitabh Bachchan persists. Last time, the Varma-Bachchan combo yielded Department, a disastrous flop. Though Bachchan has been in form of late, one cannot say the same about Varma. Expectations are iffy about RGV's ability to narrate a forceful story the way he used to during his Satya days. But who knows? He could just get his act in order for this one.
JAGGA JASOOS (April 6): Better late than never. This exceedingly delayed production ran into rougher weather with the acrimonious break-up, off-screen, of Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif. Inching towards completion now, the romcom about a bumbling detective in search of his missing father has been directed by Anurag Basu, who earlier crafted the widely-adored Barfi!. The film, shot in Mumbai studios as well as overseas locations, is believed to be partly bankrolled by Ranbir, who hopes to produce - and maybe direct - films for the family's legendary RK banner some day.
TUBELIGHT (June 25): Naturally, the Ramadan-Eid festive day is traditionally reserved for Salman Khan. Described as a 'war drama' set against the backdrop of the 1962 Indo-China conflict, our super-muscled bhai falls in love with a Chinese girl portrayed by Zhu Zhu. Kabir Khan, who has directed enormous hits like Ek Tha Tiger and Bajrangi Bhaijaan, is back at the helm.
THE UNNAMED IMTIAZ ALI PROJECT (August 10): Anushka Sharma portrays a Gujarati girl on a holiday in Europe - and who should turn out to be her tourist guide but Shah Rukh Khan? Filmed largely in Budapest, Prague and Amsterdam, the Imtiaz Ali-directed film was titled The Ring at the outset. The search is on for an alternative.
SIMRAN (September 14): Hansal Mehta, director of the highly applauded Shahid and Aligarh, adapts a real-life story about an NRI nurse who was arrested for robbing banks to pay off her gambling debts. Blending fiction with fact, here's Mehta's most ambitious film to date, which is already making news for the intensive study and rehearsals Kangana Ranaut has had to undergo to portray the good bad girl.
PADMAVATI (November 16): After Bajirao Mastani, Sanjay Leela Bhansali sticks to the historical groove with this pageant set in a bygone century. The plot is about Allaudin Khilji's crazed attraction towards Rani Padmavati, wife of the ruler of Mewar. Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor lead the cast and, if reports are to be believed, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will make a special appearance.
TIGER ZINDA HAI (December 25): Slotted for the Christmas week, the spy thriller is a follow-up to Ek Tha Tiger, also produced by Aditya Chopra's YashRaj banner. Kabir Khan will not direct this one though. Ali Abbas Zafar, who toted a winner with Sultan, has been handpicked by Salman Khan for this espionage thriller (in Jason Bourne-style) that seeks to drive home the message - make peace, not war.
wknd@khaleejtimes.com