This month, on the big screen

The May movie menu is packed full - here's what to expect

Traditionally, on the international circuit, May is the month for a clutch of summer movies. And, this year, the multi-superhero extravaganza Captain America: Civil War - crammed with special effects - has been marketed to the world over as the catch of the season.
In India, too, it has proved to be the prime attraction at the multiplexes, what with the ongoing popularity of its cartoon strip-sourced messiahs, including Iron Man and Spider-Man, the favourites of children of all ages.
As for the Bollywood summer output, usually there's no mega-budget film on the schedule. After all, the trade bosses synchronise the biggies - especially projects toplining Salman, Shah Rukh and Aamir Khan - with the festive weeks of Eid, Diwali and Christmas, which witness a rapid rise of footfalls at the auditoria.
Market research has revealed that, quite curiously, in India, the movie attendance drops considerably in May. Reason: a large section of moviegoers takes off to hill towns or overseas for family getaways. Despite that slump, at least 12-15 films are on the May menu, albeit of the medium to low-budget variety.
The month has kicked off with the horror flick 1920 London, the third instalment in a scream-and-shudder franchise initiated by Vikram Bhatt. The same old spooky stuff featured Sharman Joshi as - what else? - an exorcist who can tackle the deadliest of demons.
By contrast, Traffic - a remake of a Malayalam film on the subject of an emergency heart transplant - was way more worthwhile, in particular, for yet another highly impactful performance by Manoj Bajpayee as a duty-driven traffic cop.

Traffic
Mid-May should perk up with Azhar, the biopic of the controversial cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin being enacted by Emraan Hashmi. Its buzz has been increasing, thanks to the former team captain taking the lead in the film's promotional campaigns. He couldn't quite handle questions about his alleged involvement in a match-fixing scandal though.
Azharuddin walked out of a press conference on being badgered but was persuaded to return to the endless round of interviews that were being monitored by hawk-like publicity agents. Nargis Fakhri has been cast as Azhar's second wife, the former Miss India and actress Sangeeta Bijlani. Prachi Desai incarnates Azhar's first wife, Naureen. Hopefully, the film won't emerge as a hagiography of the cricketer, whose fall from grace severely impaired the longevity of his career.
May 13 is also the kick-off day for the intimately scaled Dear Dad, clearly catered towards a niche audience. The plot revolves around a middle-aged man and his teenage son on a road trip from Delhi to a Mussoorie boarding school. Its success, however, depends on the drawing power of the Chennai-based actor Arvind Swamy, who does retain a semblance of a fan following, though he had previously gone on a self-imposed sabbatical from Hindi films. Indeed, decades have lapsed since he was warmly appreciated for his charismatic screen presence in Mani Ratnam's mix of romance and politics in Roja and Bombay.
Going by the buzz and the fact that it's another biopic, the preferred genre of filmmakers of late, Sarbjit - directed by Omung Kumar, who made his debut with an account of the tribulations of the boxing champ Mary Kom - could well be the pièce de résistance of the month.  
The solitary release of May 20, Sarbjit traces the relentless efforts of Dalbir Kaur who strived to exonerate her brother, Sarabjit Singh, charged of terrorism in Pakistan. The story has an emotional charge. And its USP is that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has dared to eschew glamour in a bid to assert her abilities as an actress of dramatic substance. Fingers crossed.
Sarbjit will have to prove its staying power at the ticket windows no more than a week later, however - because, of the half-a-dozen movies which end the month's entertainment quotient, the odds seem to be in favour of the Pooja Bhatt-produced Cabaret, which unfounded rumours claim to be culled from the life of the legendary dance diva Helen.
Among the other films that open on May 27, the rom-com Dil Toh Deewana Hai may evoke some public curiosity for the participation of Zeenat Aman, playing an ageing single mother. Ram Gopal Varma's Killing Veerappan, which re-tracks the exploits of the eponymous bandit, has already been seen in an absurdly fantasised style, 16 years ago in the director's Jungle.

Killing Veerappan
And there's Waiting, about an unlikely pair - the eminently watchable Naseeruddin Shah and Kalki Koechlin - who strike a bond while nursing their individual spouses in a hospital.
None of the films in the May market are conventional, sure-shot, box office bestsellers. But then, surprises never cease, do they? In fact, relatively small-budget cinema can be beautiful.
(The movie release dates mentioned apply to cinemas worldwide. Dubai audiences get to see most Bollywood's films a day earlier on Thursdays.)