Five trends in Bollywood to watch out for in 2015

Ranbir Kapoor is back

One bad film doesn’t end a career, especially if you are as talented as Ranbir Kapoor is. But few will deny that Besharam struck a sizeable dent to Kapoor’s oeuvre. His legion of fans couldn’t believe that their favourite actor could do such a crass film. In 2015, Kapoor is pinning his hopes on the other Kashyap – Anurag – the one hailed as the poster boy of Indian indie cinema. Only Anurag is taking a risk of sorts, much like Kapoor did with an image changeover in Besharam, and doing his first big-budget film in Bombay Velvet. Will the period film featuring Anushka Sharma, Karan Johar and Raveena Tandon impress? We’ll know on May 15. But before you see Kapoor in BV, you will see him in Roy, which is directed and written by his friend Vikramjit Singh, who we can’t help but feel is counting on Kapoor to grab eyeballs for his debut. Making up for a lack of major release in 2014 and with only a cameo to satisfy fans in PK, Kapoor has two more films hitting the theatre. There’s Jagga Jasoos which sees him team up with Barfi! director Anurag Basu and starring his significant other Katrina Kaif. Thereafter he goes back to his ex, Deepika Padukone, to create a Tamasha, directed by Imtiaz Ali. Odds are in Kapoor’s favour as he hopes for at least one big hit in four.

Salman versus Shah Rukh 

Aamir Khan is busy celebrating PK’s success which has made him the first actor to reach the Rs 300 crore milestone. Remember, he was also the first to enter the Rs 200 crore club, again with a Rajkumar Hirani film in 3 Idiots. But investing much of his energy and time in PK has meant that Aamir may not have a release in 2015. While some are reporting that his next with Nitesh Tewari, in which he is supposed to essay the role of a wrestler, won’t take too much time to complete, it is still hard to believe that the I’m-not-a-perfectionist-and-control-freak Khan will quickly wrap up the film with a director only two children-centric films old: Chillar Party and Bhootnath Returns. This means that 2015 will be a race between favourite worst enemies rest of the year and hugging friends come Eid: Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan. Bhai has releases in Bajrangi Bhaijaan (also starring Kareena Kapoor Khan) and Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo, which sees him step away from action hero territory and return to the family drama camp of Sooraj Barjatya. Meanwhile, King Khan has Fan, directed by Maneesh Sharma, in which he is reportedly playing a big SRK fan.

Amitabh Bachchan is still going strong

Shamitabh, Piku and Wazir, the septuagenarian superstar is back in big-ticket business. Yes, he also has more work than his son, Abhishek Bachchan, who is counting on All is Well to release. The partnership of R Balki and Big B has resulted in such gems as Cheeni Kum and Paa, so Shamitabh, which also sees Dhanush and Akshara Haasan, should be an interesting watch. For Piku, Bachchan shares the screen with one of the industry’s finest actors in Irrfan Khan and one of Bollywood’s leading actresses in Deepika Padukone. That and writer Juhi Chaturvedi and director Shoojit Sircar – the team behind the surprise hot Vicky Donor – has many highly anticipating the film. And finally there’s Wazir, which has a screenplay written by Abhijat Joshi (3 Idiots, PK) and Vidhu Vinod Chopra (Parinda), and could see talented director Bejoy Nambiar enter the A league.

Heroine of the year: Anushka Sharma or Deepika Padukone?

Alia Bhatt has Shaandaar. Priyanka Chopra has Dil Dhadakne Do and Bajirao Mastani. Katrina Kaif has Phantom and Jagga Jasoos. But in 2015 all eyes will be on Deepika Padukone and Anushka Sharma. The former has Piku in the first half, followed by two films which are currently expected to release on December 25 – Bajirao Mastani (directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and also starring her rumoured beau Ranveer Singh) and Tamasha. Knowing how release dates keep changing in Bollywood, expect that clash to be avoided. Meanwhile, Anushka Sharma has an equally impressive roster. With NH10, a thriller which is also her first film as producer, Bombay Velvet, and Dil Dhadakne Do, Zoya Akhtar’s ensemble family drama which unfolds on a cruise, Sharma looks like Padukone’s biggest rival.

Small wonders

Badlapur. Tigers. Killa. Margarita, with a Straw. Shimla Mirchi. Nyodda. Titli. Court. They may not have big budgets and superstars but don’t overlook these films. As Queen has proven, big things can pop up in small packages.