Pathaan

More than four years after Zero, Shah Rukh Khan returns with his big Republic Day weekend release Pathaan. Looking to open big and remain huge, Pathaan has already made a splash with SRK’s abs, Besharam rang, et al. With Deepika Padukone and John Abraham also starring, all eyes are on Pathaan to pull the Bolly box office out of its current rut.

Jawan

SRK’s second release of 2023 is directed by Atlee and marks the Hindi film debut of Nayanthara, widely known as ‘Lady Superstar’ in the south. The first-look poster — with Shah Rukh dressed in camo and bandaged top to toe — has intrigued us enough to give Jawan a dekko on release Friday, especially when we know that the Bolly Badshah plays a double role in the film. Vijay Sethupathi and Sanya Malhotra make up the rest of the cast.

Kuttey

The year promises to begin with a bang with this curiously titled film from the stable of Vishal Bhardwaj, who, interestingly, also made a memorable film called Kaminey. Vishal’s son Aasmaan makes his debut as director with this potentially delish thriller that brings together a dream cast — Naseeruddin Shah, Tabu, Konkona Sensharma, Kumud Mishra, Arjun Kapoor and Radhika Madan.

Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani

Karan Johar returns to the director’s chair with this big-budget family film that boasts of names like Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan and Shabana Azmi. A big one this year to look forward to.

Tiger 3

Salman Khan slips into the shoes of super spy Tiger in the third instalment of the smash-hit franchise that is directed by Maneesh Sharma. Katrina Kaif returns as Zoya, with Emraan Hashmi playing the baddie.

Bade Miyan Chote Miyan

Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff will share screen space for the first time in Ali Abbas Zafar’s action comedy that will be shot across four countries and will release on Christmas.

Shehzada

He is currently the man who can do no wrong. Heartthrob Kartik Aaryan reunites with his Luka Chuppi co-star Kriti Sanon for February film Shehzada.

Adipurush

The shoddy special effects in the trailer released in October made Adipurush fodder for many a meme. The brouhaha prompted the makers to shift the release date from January to June 2023. While it remains to be seen how this modern Ramayana — with Prabhas as Raghava/ Ram, Kriti Sanon as Janaki/ Sita and Saif Ali Khan as Lankesh/ Raavan — will eventually play out, Adipurush will have to do quite a bit of work at the box office to recover its massive Rs 600-crore budget.

Tu jhoothi main makkaar

We are not really sold on the title, but the prospect of watching Ranbir Kapoor in a rom-com, Shraddha Kapoor for company, will make us queue up for this March film. Dimple Kapadia also stars in this Luv Ranjan film.

Bawaal

Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor will pair up for the first time in this Nitesh Tiwari romantic drama that has been shot in locations as diverse as Lucknow and Warsaw.

Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan

The 2014 Tamil hit Veeram gets a Bhai spin in, well, Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan. Salman Khan’s Id biggie this year has him sporting long locks, with the film undergoing multiple cast changes to finally star Pooja Hegde, Venkatesh and Jagapathi Babu.

Merry Christmas

Thriller master Sriram Raghavan returns with what promises to be an edge-of-the-seat watch with the unlikely pair of Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi.

The Archies

A bunch of star kids — Suhana Khan (Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter), Khushi Kapoor (Sridevi’s daughter) and Agastya Nanda (Amitabh Bachchan’s grandson) — as well as some young new faces will make their acting debuts in Zoya Akhtar’s desi adaptation of the adventures of the Riverdale teen and his gang. The Archies will stream on Netflix.

Dunki

SRK will round off the year with his third release of 2023. Directed by Rajkumar Hirani and telling the tale of immigrants, we are really looking forward to this interestingly named film that pairs Shah Rukh and Taapsee Pannu for the first time.

Animal

Kabir Singh maker Sandeep Reddy Vanga brings together Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol and Rashmika Mandanna in this gangster film that is the big Independence day release of the year.

Animal

Vicky Kaushal is the spitting image of Sam Manekshaw in the first look of Sam Bahadur, the biopic on the remarkable life and career of the decorated army man. The Meghna Gulzar directorial also stars Dangal girls Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra.