Five summers ago, Telugu and Hindi film industries were a startled lot when the Indian Premier League got off to a roaring start and ate into the footfalls at movie halls. Not any longer. Sajid Khan's Housefull 2 , lampooned by critics, crossed the Rs. 100 crore mark in 17 days, proving that IPL cannot deter the charm of movies.
In Telugu, Ram Charan's Racha continues to hold sway. As the stage is set for bigger releases, there's competition from Hollywood for both Hindi and Telugu movies. This week's Dammu Vs. The Avengers is just the beginning. Marvel Studio's The Avengers has released across 800 screens in the country in English and dubbed versions in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil.
Production houses distributing Hollywood films believe in ‘making it large' this season. Amazing Spiderman , starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and our own Irrfan Khan, is set to release in nearly 100 screens in the country in July.
There's room for everything and everyone, from superhero flicks to science fiction films.
Await Hugo , Men in Black 3, Madagascar 3, Prometheus, The Dark Knight Rises and Ice Age 4 by the end of summer.
Hindi cinema, meanwhile, will see a mix of new-age films that defy the staid commercial diktats and a bunch of biggies. First up on May 4 will be the much-delayed Fatso , starring Ranvir Shorey, which has won critical acclaim at international film festivals. This will be followed by Habib Faisal's Ishaqzaade with Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra on May 11.
Between May and June, stay tuned for Sanjay Leela Bhansali production Rowdy Rathore (remake of Raviteja's Vikramarkudu ) with Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha, helmed by Prabhudeva; Karisma Kapoor's return with Dangerous Ishq ; Vidhu Vinod Chopra production Ferrari Ki Sawaari ; Kunal Kohli's Teri Meri Kahani; Ram Gopal Varma's Department and Dibakar Banerjee's Shanghai among other films.
As for Telugu films, it will be a battle of the biggies. After Racha and Dammu , the next few Fridays will see Balakrishna's Adhinayakudu , Pawan Kalyan's Gabbar Singh , Endukante Premante starring Ram and Tamannaah, Raviteja and Tapsee's Daruvu and Rajamouli's Eega.
To top it off, there's Ajith's Billa 2 , a magnum opus that will also release in Telugu. According to reports, the film has managed to make profits even before release, owing to theatrical, satellite and music rights.
Going against the grain
Among the summer releases, here are three films that steer clear of formulae and hence, have generated much interest.
Eega : We've heard this before. Villain kills a hero; the hero takes a re-birth and avenges his killer. But what's new is the re-birth happens through an eega, the housefly. Rajamouli spearheads this project that promises to be high on action and CGI.
Ishaqzaade : Boney Kapoor's son Arjun Kapoor's debut is anything but starry. The setting is rustic and the film reveals a bloody fight for supremacy and love. At first glance, Arjun Kapoor reminds one of Abhishek Bachchan in Yuva and Parineeti Chopra is emerging as a talent to watch out for.
Shanghai : Inspired by the 1969 film Z , directed by Costa Gavras, Dibakar Banerjee's Shanghai holds a mirror to present day Indian politics. Abhay Deol as an IAS officer and Emraan Hashmi as the street-smart videographer promise to take us on a riveting ride.
