As the film industry regains its creative and economic momentum, these are the releases the trade and the audience are most looking forward to

After two years of COVID-19-related uncertainties, the film industry is finally looking forward to brighter times. Major blockbusters are in the pipeline for 2023 and many big-budget projects will be released in the near future as well. Here is our pick of some of these films that promise to revive the spirits of the industry in a big way. These are films that ardent movie buffs are also looking forward to eagerly.

1) Thank God: Expected release on 29 July 2022, an upcoming comedy film written and directed by Indra Kumar with production T-Series and Maruti International. The film is produced by Anand Pandit, Yash Shah, Deepak Mukut and others who promises to be a hilarious, big-hearted, slice-of-life comedy with a massive star cast. The producers has been sharing his excitement over how the film is meant to bring the genre of family entertainers back to the theatres once again. Headlined by Ajay Devgn, Rakul Preet Singh, and Sidharth Malhotra, the film depicts with great humor, important insights into life and relationships. One of its many highlights is the Sri Lankan superhit song, ‘Manike Mage Hithe’, picturized on Sidharth Malhotra and Nora Fatehi.

2) Jugg Jugg Jeeyo: To be released on 24 June 2022, this is director Raj Mehta’s next film after the hit comedy-drama, ‘Good Newwz’. This story too revolves around the marital chaos in the lives of two couples. The film stars Anil Kapoor, Neetu Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, and Kiara Advani as couples whose generational gap creates many fun complications. Manish Paul also plays an important role. The story revolves around a young married couple who hide their decision to get a divorce as they don’t want to disrupt a family wedding. However, they are shocked when they realise that the family patriarch is also seeking a divorce from his wife owing to an extra-marital relationship with a much younger woman (Tisca Chopra). The film is produced by Dharma Productions and Viacom18 Studios.

3) Pathan: Expected to release on 25 January 2023, this much-awaited Shahrukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, and John Abraham starrer is produced by Yash Raj and is directed by Siddharth Anand. From the little that has been shared with the media, Shahrukh plays a RAW agent on a mission to protect India and sports a never-seen-before action persona. Apart from Hindi, the movie will also be released in Tamil and Telugu. Incidentally, this is the fourth film where Shahrukh and Deepika have been paired together after ‘Om Shanti Om’, ‘Chennai Express, and ‘Happy New Year’.

4) Dunki: Shahrukh Khan will be seen in three films in 2023 after a hiatus of nearly four years. Apart from ‘Pathan’ and ‘Jawan,’ fans are also eagerly awaiting ‘Dunki’, his first collaboration with hitmaker Rajkumar Hirani. The film will highlight the widespread use of an illegal route called ‘Donkey Flight’ by Indians to immigrate to countries like Canada and the USA. Apart from dealing with migration issues, the film will also have large helpings of larger-than-life entertainment and comedy. The film stars Taapsee Pannu in a pivotal role and is a joint production by Red Chillies and Rajkumar Hirani Films. It will be released on December 22, 2023.