Diwali, which brings joy to millions of people around the world, is also an important occasion for the Indian film industry. Almost every region releases at least two or three films to mark the Festival of Lights.
Southern films
Tamil film producers and distributors wait with bated breath the evolving situation following the imprisonment of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha Jayaram for six years on corruption-related charges. Four mega films are on the cards, including ‘Kaththi’ (starring Vijay), ‘Poojai’ (Vishal), ‘Anegan’ (Dhanush) and AI (Vikram), apart from a few other smaller films that await distribution rights and screen dates.
Among the Telugu films that await release are Govindudu Andarivadele (with Ram Charan Teja, Kajal Aggarwal), Rudhiram (Jagapati Babu), Dikkulu Chudaku Ramayya (Naga Shourya, Sana Khan) and Ila Choodu Okasaari (Rajendra Prasad, Hemanth)
Mega production
The Hindi film industry looks forward to the release of Farah Khan’s ‘Happy New Year,’ with the biggest promise: Shahrukh Khan and Deepika Padukone in the lead. The film, due for release on October 24 is the hottest topic in India and abroad.
The film is Shahrukh’s home production.
Farah Khan, a choreographer par excellence, would obviously place great emphasis on the music and dance sequences and ‘Happy New Year’ would be no exception. In placing Shahrukh (who has consistently appeared in her films), opposite Deepika (their third film together), she hopes that the pair would work the magic of success again.
The film also boasts of other good actors who have taken many of their films to box-office success. They are Abhishek Bachchan, Boman Irani, Sonu Sood and Vivaan Shah, son of veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah. The film, shot extensively in Dubai and centres in the Middle East has Jackie Shroff as the villain.
Farah’s foray
Farah has made a successful transition from choreography to direction. Her venture with Shahrukh in ‘Main Hoon Na’ was a runaway success, followed by ‘Om Shanti Om,’ which created a record in the box-office.
But luck deserted her in the third outing ‘Tees Maar Khan,’ The comedy with Akshay Kumar ended up being a tragic and painful watch for audiences.
‘Happy New Year’ is the only release for Shahrukh in 2014 and comes more than a year after the release of ‘Chennai Express,’ an impressive blockbuster.
For Abhishek, ‘Happy New Year’ affords another opportunity to give a boost to his film career, which has struggled to take off, in spite of his innings for more than ten years.
Unique marketing
Shahrukh is known as one of the best marketing brains in the Hindi film industry. For his latest home production, he has devised a unique way to generate more buzz and curiosity.
The team of the multi-starrer recently held a string of concerts across America and Europe, entertaining fans and garnering extensive coverage and visibility for the film.
The music of the film composed by Vishal-Shekhar is fast gaining popularity.
‘Happy New Year’ promises a mix of all the ingredients that make a successful Indian film, including action, comedy, romance and drama.
Its release this Diwali will tell us if big budgeted, lavishly mounted films turn out to be sparkling entertainers.
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2. Anxious wait for Vijay’s ‘Kaththi’ (Tamil)
