Opinion | Bollywood 2024: Can the film industry emulate last year’s box office performance?

Last year was a good year for Bollywood. The industry rediscovered its lost confidence by delivering blockbuster action dramas alongside the commercial success of several other genre films. Will history repeat itself this year? In 2023, there will be four films worth over Rs 500 crore – Atlee’s ‘Jawan’, Siddharth Anand’s ‘Pasaan’, Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s ‘Animal’ and Anil Sharma’s ‘Gadar 2’. That would be difficult, considering that the movie drew millions of people to theaters.

As 2024 begins, Hrithik Roshan’s fans must be hoping that their favorite star will break records in Siddharth Anand’s action drama Fighter, which is scheduled to release on January 25. Roshan is famously his USP star and has an unparalleled presence on screen. The trailer of the film suggests that he would be perfect as a fighter pilot in the extravagant horse-riding masala entertainer co-starring Deepika Padukone and Anil Kapoor. Directed by Anand, whose actioner ‘Pasaan’ crossed the Rs 100-crore bridge last year, ‘Fighter’ could be the next big-budget blockbuster in the Hindi film industry.

Another highly anticipated January release is Sriram Raghavan’s romantic thriller Merry Christmas featuring Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi. If “Merry Christmas” finds its target audience, it could yield good commercial results for the producers. Also released in January and with every chance of becoming a sleeper hit is director Ravi Jadhav’s biopic ‘Main Atal Hoon’, starring Pankaj Tripathi as former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. do. A good report card for the industry in January would be the perfect start to the new year.

Two Khans, Shah Rukh Khan and Maneesh Sharma’s Tiger 3 gave 3 out of 5 blockbuster hits of 2023. Neither SRK nor Salman will be seen on screen this year, and Aamir Khan won’t have any releases either. After the phenomenal success of Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal, Ranbir Kapoor, who has been ahead of everyone else except SRK, will disappear from the screen. After making an unexpected comeback with ‘Gadar 2’, Sunny Deol, who is currently working on Rajkumar Santoshi’s period drama ‘Lahore 1947’, produced by Aamir Khan, is also not scheduled for release.

But other companies scheduled to release can expect larger audiences over a longer period of time without the possibility of a box office clash with some of Bollywood’s strongest rivals. What also gives audiences confidence is the perception that if they hear a lot of good news about the content, they will be willing to pay the ticket price and go to the theater to see the movie. The foundation stone for the Rs 500-crore club, which has several members, was laid last year. Could some of the upcoming movies become members of that club? Of course it is possible.

The bitter fan war following the release of Rajkumar Hirani’s comedy ‘Dhanki’ and Prashant Neel’s pan-Indian action film ‘Salar: Part 1 – Ceasefire’ held lessons for the entire Indian film industry. Conflicts must be avoided at all costs. It’s equally important to remember that if such films’ releases overlap, both films may lose some viewers. Currently, director Sukumar’s Telugu action drama ‘Pushpa 2: The Rules’, which is also dubbed in Hindi, and Rohit Shetty’s action drama ‘Singham Again’ are scheduled to be released on August 15.

A sequel to Pushpa: The Rise (2021), Pushpa 2 focuses on the life of Pushpa Raj (Allu Arjun), a coolie who rises to a position of considerable power in a smuggling syndicate. Shetty’s Cop His fifth installment in the universe, Singham Again revolves around a hot-tempered cop, Bajira Osingham (Ajay Devgn), who takes revenge on social evils with his unique style. Pushpa and Singham are one of the most popular characters in modern Indian cinema, but two films based on their stories, even if they were blockbusters on the same day, would have garnered as large an audience as the others. It may not be possible.

One of the Bollywood stars who is looking forward to the coming months with high expectations is Akshay Kumar. Mr. Kumar, the industry’s Mr. Prolific, has not been able to achieve solo success lately. His only hit was Amit Rai’s acclaimed satirical comedy OMG 2, in which he appeared in a special role. Mr. Kumar’s critics believe he needs to do less work to deliver better results. However, the actor has stuck with the famous POA for appearing in several movies, some of which are scheduled to be released later this year. Apart from Ahmed Khan’s comedies ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ and ‘Singham Again’ (in which he had a cameo role in the latter), Kumar will be seen in several films in 2024, in which he appears as part of a big star cast. He is scheduled to play a central role in the upcoming film.

The list of upcoming Kumar films includes director Ali Abbas Zafar’s much-awaited action drama ‘Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan’, in which he will share screen space with Tiger Shroff. He is currently waiting to make a comeback after suffering a setback in ‘Hero Panti 2’ (2022), also directed by Ahmed Khan. and Vikas Bahl’s Ganapath: The Birth of a Hero (2023). Kumar’s fans can look forward to Sudha Kongara’s Soorarai Pottru, Karan Singh Tyagi’s The Untold Story of C Sankaran Naar, and Abhishek Kapoor’s untitled Sky Force. One must be hoping that Kumar will find some success with the remake. The question is whether he can establish and re-establish himself as one of the leading lights of modern Bollywood.

Ajay Devgn, a veteran of over 30 years, has had more hits than any other player in his long career. Apart from playing the title role in ‘Singham Again’, his upcoming films include ‘Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha’ and ‘Maidaan’. Amit Sharma’s ‘Maidan’, a biographical drama revolving around the life of famous football coach Syed Abdul Rahim, is a long-delayed film that could be a big hit this year. Neeraj Pandey’s romantic musical AMKDT, which reunites Devgn with the talented Tabu, may come as a surprise to movie buffs if Pandey has the best of inspirations. And if ‘Singham Again’ becomes a huge success, Devgn will underline his power at the box office.

Among the young stars who are not in the list of A-listers, last year belonged to Vicky Kaushal. Directed by Kabir Khan, the sports drama Chandu Champion is based on the life of Mrikant Petkar, India’s first Paralympic gold medalist, and was an important film for Kartik Aaryan, who is a few years younger than Kaushal. There is. Aryan’s other much-awaited release is Anees Bazmee’s comedy ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’. If BB3 is released this year and is a commercial success, it will be a big step in the star’s career.

History shows that in the male-dominated industry of Hindi commercial cinema, the highlights of many films starring female stars have been their subject matter. Shraddha Kapoor is back with the horror-comedy ‘Street 2’, directed by Amar Kaushik, who also directed her successful prequel ‘Street’ (2018). Will Kapoor, who reunites with The Streets star Rajkummar Rao, become the face of a critically acclaimed box-office monster? That’s possible because the popularity of the first part ensured there was enough interest for a sequel. Directed by Rajesh Krishnan and starring Tabu, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Kriti Sanon, ‘The Crew’, a film centered around the aviation industry, has been in the news for quite some time now. Alia Bhatt, who has made some interesting choices in the past, is collaborating with director Vasan Bala in the action film ‘Zigra’.

Release dates for many upcoming movies are likely to change in the coming months. We’ll have to wait and see if that happens often, but some pan-Indian films could attract northern audiences in large numbers. His sci-fi film Kalki, 2898 AD, directed by Nag Ashwin and featuring Prabhas, is one of the most widely anticipated films of the year, with a strong supporting cast including Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan and Deepika Padukone. It features prominently on the list.

The versatile Rishabh Shetty, who shot to national fame in 2022 with the action-thriller ‘Kantara’, is set to achieve another box-office hit with ‘Kantara: Chapter 1’. Directed by Koratala Siva, the action drama ‘Devara: Part 1’ stars NT Rama Rao and his junior. Saif Ali Khan plays the antagonist and Janhvi Kapoor will also find an audience across India. Modern Hindi movie viewers are ready to watch any Indian movie that excites them, even if it’s a dubbed version. It’s a reality that Bollywood has learned to accept.

There’s no shortage of excitement for movie fans over the next few months. But you can’t help but think about the Bollywood movies in production with the lead stars that aren’t scheduled for release this year. His YRF Spy Universe offering is aimed at the series’ countless fans. The list of blockbuster films from 2024 onwards includes Vishnuvardhan’s ‘Bull’ starring Salman Khan and Sujoy Ghosh’s ‘The King’ (tentative title) in which SRK co-stars with his daughter Suhana Khan. ) and Farhan Akhtar’s Don 3, starring Ranveer Singh. RS Prasanna’s Aamir Khan starrer Sitare Zameen Par. Many movie buffs would have been extremely happy if all these movies had been released this year, but some upcoming Hindi movies are going to cast a spell on them. How often that happens will determine how well the industry does in 2024.

The author has been a journalist for 30 years, writing about literature and pop culture. His books include the best-selling biography of former Indian captain MS Dhoni, MSD: The Man, The Leader, and the Hall of Fame series of biographies of movie stars. The views expressed in the article above are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect his News18 views.