IMDb rates 10 ‘Most-Anticipated Indian Movies’ of 2024

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IMDb (www.imdb.com), the popular source for information on movies, TV shows and celebrities, has unveiled the “Most-Anticipated Indian Movies of 2024” as determined by the actual page views of the hundreds of millions of monthly visitors to IMDb worldwide.

Hrithik Roshan, the lead actor of Fighter (the No. 1 most-anticipated movie of 2024) said, “It’s an incredibly positive update that Fighter is the most anticipated Indian movie of 2024, as per IMDb. The response to Fighter’s teaser and songs has been extraordinary, and we hope to deliver a wholesome cinematic experience for our viewers on January 25, 2024. See you at the movies this Republic Day eve!”

Here is a look then at the Top 10 most eagerly awaited motion pictures. It is interesting to note that there are four movies each in Hindi and Telugu, with one film each in Kannada and Tamil.

Fighter 

Directed by Siddharth Anand, who reunites with Hrithik Roshan after War and Bang Bang! earlier, this is the story of our ace Indian fighter pilots who tackle the enemy fearlessly. Anil Kapoor heads the cast. It has the first time pairing of Hrithik Roshan with Deepika Padukone. The music is by Vishal-Shekhar.

Pushpa: The Rise—Part 2

Directed by Sukumar as the second and decisive part of the story that made a mark in 2021 (Pushpa: The Rise—Part 1), the film finds its anti-hero, Allu Arjun, fight with his latest adversary, Fahadh Faasil, playing the cop Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat. Rashmika Mandanna is again the heroine, while Devi Sri Prasad again scores the music for this originally in Telugu film.

Welcome to the Jungle

Firoz Nadiadwala, who has made two franchise comedies—Hera Pheri and its sequel and Welcome and its follow-up film—has announced the third part of both movies, but this one has got going first. Both series are top-lined by Akshay Kumar with Paresh Rawal in key roles and now, the recently-announced sequel about two officers hired to track down a criminal, who has an intimate connection with one of them, has a seemingly all-star cast. Akshay Kumar, Disha Patani, Sanjay Dutt, Raveena Tandon Thadani, Lara Dutta, Jacqueline Fernandez, Suniel Shetty, Arshad Warsi, Tusshar Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade and a bevy of comics led by Johny Lever, are cast in the film.

It seems like Ahmed Khan, who last helmed the 2023 calamity Ganapath. has not only combined the cast of both franchises but also borrowed from the Golmaal star-roster! Meet Bros. get to score the music.

Singham Again 

And this time, Golmaal director Rohit Shetty also aims at an ensemble cast in the next installment of his other franchise—Singham. Part 3, titled Singham Again, was tactically announced in the climax of his 2021 hit, Sooryavanshi. Ajay Devgn reprises Singham, while Akshay Kumar and Ranveer Singh, completing the director’s Cop Universe, as Sooryavanshi and Simmba respectively. Kareena Kapoor as Avni Kamat Singham (seen last in Singham Returns), Deepika Padukone also as a female cop, Tiger Shroff as ACP Satya, Jackie Shroff reprising the villain, Omar Hafeez from Sooryavanshi and Arjun Kapoor and Shweta Tiwari complete the mammoth list.

Kalki 2898 AD

This Nag Ashwin-directed pan-Indian Telugu-Hindi biggie features Deepika Padukone, Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan and Disha Patani with…Guess Who!…filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli in a cameo! Kamal Haasan, Dulquer Salmaan and Rana Daggubati are also a part of the stupendous multi-regional casting. Ram Gopal Varma also makes a cameo. So what is this futuristic saga all about? An avatar of Lord Vishnu takes on the baddies 800 years later! The film, incidentally, is Amitabh’s second futuristic film after Ganapath and, at a production cost of Rs. 600 crore, is the most expensive Indian film ever.

Bagheera 

When society turns into jungle, one predator cries out for justice. That is the core of this Kannada thriller directed by D.R. Suri and co-written by the writer-director of the KGF franchise, Prashanth Neel. Sri Murali and Rukmini Vasanth play the leads, while Prakash Raj, Rangayana Raghu and Garuda Ram play key roles. Produced by Vijay Kiragandur, the film has music by B. Ajaneesh Loknath.

Hanu Man

The protagonist gets the powers of Lord Hanuman and fights for Anjanadri in the fictional place of that name. Written and directed by Prashanth Varma, the Telugu film stars Teja Sajja as Hanumanthu and Amritha Aiyer. Ravi Teja gives a key voiceover. The superhero film is set in the fictional village of Anjanadri and is the first installment of the Prasanth Varma Cinematic Universe followed by Adhira.

Bade Miyan Chote Miyan

With their contrasting personalities and maverick methods, Bade Miyan and Chote Miyan need to overcome their differences and labor together to deal with offenders. A sequel in spirit to the 1998 film of that name, the movie stars Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff again together, besides in Welcome to the Jungle. Sonakshi Sinha, an old Akshay favorite, Alaya F. and Manushi Chhillar play key roles. Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, the film has music by Vishal-Shekhar. Vashu Bhagnani is the franchise owner and produces the film.

Kanguva

A warrior in 1678 dies due to a disease, and in the present day, a girl does research on the disease which killed the warrior back then! This interesting subject is directed by Siva and stars Suriya (in six roles!), Disha Patani and Bobby Deol—who has signed this South film in the wake of his successful Animal. Both Mumbai actors make their Tamil film debuts. Devi Sri Prasad composes the music. As per Wikipedia, Kanguva is reported to have made a pre-release recovery of more than Rs. 400 crore (US $50 million) which includes digital, audio and satellite rights, becoming the first Tamil film to do so. The South Indian digital rights of the film were sold for Rs. 80 crore (US$10 million, while the Hindi satellite, digital and theatrical rights were sold to Pen Studios for Rs. 100 crore!

Devara Part 1 

This is an epic Telugu action saga set against coastal lands, with emotionally-charged incidents galore, and the protagonist being a rescuer of the deprived and a cause of fear for the evildoers. The pan-Indian Koratala Siva film, first of a two-film franchise, features NTR Jr. (of RRR fame), Saif Ali Khan and Janhvi Kapoor, who recently stated in Koffee With Karan that this was the role with which she thought she is destined to find her due place in the industry, as every work of hers so far seemed like a preparation for this movie!