WHAT IS EXPECTED IN BOLLYWOOD IN 2012

What Is Expected In Bollywood In 2012

Shanghai: Inspired by Greek writer Vassilis Vassilikos's acclaimed novel Z, Dibaker Bannerjee spins a tale on Maharashtra politicians' aspirations of turning Mumbai into Shanghai. Hence the name for this political thriller that features Abhay Deol, Emraan Hashmi and Kalki Koechlin.

Release: To be announced

Gali Gali Chor Hai: Undeterred by the debacle of his directorial debut, writer Rumi Jafri is sure of his next, Gali Gali Chor Hai. The slice of life film features Akshaye Khanna as the Common Man who becomes a victim of the corrupt system. How the cashier at a bank who plays Lord Hanuman in the local RamLeela overcomes his circumstances forms the crux of the movie.

Release: February 3

Ek Deewana Tha: A decade since Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, director Gautam Memon returns to Bollywood with his second movie. Like his first, Ek Deewana Tha too is a remake of his own Tamil hit, Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa. Prateik and Amy Jackson play the lead pair in this cross-cultural romance, the music of which has been composed by maestro A R Rahman.

Release: February 17

London, Paris, New York: Ali Zafar and Aditi Rao feature in this romcom spanning three countries. Ali is also composing the music and rending his own playback. First-timer Anu Menon directs the film produced by Goldie Behl and Srishti Arya.

Release: March

Kya Super Kool Hain Hum: Tusshar Kapoor and Riteish Deshmukh return in this sequel of Kya Kool Hain Hum under the aegis of the writer-turned-director Sachin Yardi. Angela Jonnson and Neha Sharma replace Neha Dhupia and Eeshaa Koppikhar from the first movie and are supported by Bipasha Basu, Sarah Jane Dias and Chunky Panday.

Release: April 6

Jannat 2: Riding on the success of Jannat, producers Mukesh and Mahesh Bhatt are back with yet another sequel. Under the direction of Kunal Deshmukh, Emraan Hashmi is joined in this film about match fixing by Randeep Hooda and Prachi Desai.

Release: April 27

Raaz 3: Nearly a decade since the first Raaz went on to become a runaway hit, director Vikram Bhatt rejoins producer uncles Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt for yet another scary thriller. Emraan Hashmi, who played an artist in Raaz 2 returns for a trilogy that also features Jacqueline Fernandez.

Release: August 31

Khiladi 786: More than 10 years since International Khiladi, Akshay Kumar returns in his most-famous avatar, this time in and as Khiladi 786. Helmed by Ashish R Mohan, the action comedy features Himesh Reshammiya too, who is also co-producing it with Akshay.

Release: November 14 (Diwali)

Yash Chopra's next: Seven years after Veer-Zaara, the master of romance returns with his favourite Shah Rukh Khan. Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma are said to join him in this love triangle, the shooting for which starts early January.

Release: November 14 (Diwali)

Race 2: Directed by Abbas-Mustan, John Abraham steps in to join Saif Ali Khan and Anil Kapoor in this suspense thriller that takes off after Akshaye Khanna and Katrina Kaif's characters end in the first movie. Deepika Padukone, Jacqueline Fernandez and Ameesha Patel to sizzle in place of Bipasha, Katrina and Sameera Reddy.

Release: November 30

Chashme Buddoor: Putting the debacle of Rascals behind him, David Dhawan embarks on the remake of Sai Paranjpe's acclaimed hit, Chashme Buddoor. Ali Zafar reprises Faroukh Shaikh's role, aided by Divyendhu Sharma and Siddharth. The comedy also features Tapasi, Anupam Kher, Rishi Kapoor and Raveena Tandon.

Release: To be announced

Student Of The Year: For the first time since his debut, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, director Karan Johar's film doesn't star Shah Rukh Khan. However, he's onboard as the co-producer as KJo directs star kids Varun Dhawan (son of David Dhawan) and Alia Bhatt (daughter of Mahesh Bhatt) in this campus romance.

Release: To be announced

Ghayal Returns: More than two decades since the Rajkumar Santoshi-helmed movie stormed the box-office, Sunny Deol is back to playing a mature Ajay Verma. Old friend Rahul Rawail, who directed his first hits like Betaab and Arjun is at the helm to also help boost the Vijeyta Films banner.

Release: November 14 (Diwali)

Thaanedaar Returns: Southern whiz K S Ravikumar makes his Hindi debut with the remake of Saamy. Sanjay Dutt reprises the protagonist cop essayed by Vikram in the Tamil hit. Asin plays his love interest while Prakash Raj is the bad man.

Release: November 14 (Diwali)

Cocktail: Being Cyrus might not have set the cash registers ringing, but it sure got Homi Adajania noticed as a director to reckon with. He returns with Cocktail, an unusual love story, written by Imtiaz Ali and featuring Saif Ali Khan (also producer) and Deepika Padukone.

Release: To be announced.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's ambitious biography on Milkha Singh. Farhan Akhtar has already started training to play the Flying Sikh, as the athlete was popularly known as. Sonam Kapoor plays his love before he got married to Nirmal Kaur.

Release: To be announced

Zilla Ghaziabad: Sanjay Dutt plays a cop yet again (besides Department and Thaanedaar Returns) in this movie based on gang wars in the mid 1990s in Ghaziabad. Arshad Warsi plays his first negative character as Prakash Fauji, while Vivek Oberoi plays his nemesis, a professor-turned-gangster in this Anand Kumar directed film.

Release: To be announced

Maatru Ki Bijli Ka Mandola: Thanks to open date diary, Imran Khan could sign up for this Vishal Bhardwaj rom-com, also featuring Anushka Sharma and set in rustic Rajasthan. The young actor is these days trying to get into Saif Ali Khan's Langda Tyagi mould at the behest of the filmmaker. Perhaps that is something that first choice Ajay Devgn didn't want to do. And the young Khan had no qualms about.

Release: To be announced

Rock The Shaadi: One of the most promising directors of 2008, Navdeep Singh returns with his second movie. Said to be a zombie-comedy, it features his favourite Abhay Deol, along with Genelia D'Souza.

Release: To be announced

Kismat, Love, Paisa, Dilli: Three years after the acclaimed surprise success of Ek Chaalis Ki Last Local, director Sanjay Khanduri returns with what was touted to be as the sequel to the Abhay Deol movie. However, this one, starring Vivek Oberoi and Mallika Sherawat, has been renamed as Kismat, Love, Paisa, Dilli or KLPD as short, for a popular Hindi slang.

Release: To be announced

Shootout At Wadala: After their fallout, post Shootout At Lokhandwala, director Sanjay Gupta and producer Ekta Kapoor join hands for yet another film based on reality. However, this time they're tracing the first encounter of Mumbai, of Manya Surve by cop Isaque Bhagwan in 1981. Anil Kapoor plays the cop while John Abraham plays the gangster. Vidya Balan has been reportedly confirmed as the don's moll.

Release: To be announced

Lootera: Not one to rest on laurels post Udaan, director Vikramaditya Motwane revisits the 1960s with his second film. Interestingly, this is hero Ranveer Singh's first movie outside the YRF banner that pairs him with Sonakshi Sinha.

Release: To be announced

English Vinglish: Nearly a decade and a half since Judaai, Sridevi makes her comeback. Discounting her special appearance in Halla Bol (2008), English Vinglish sees her as a protagonist struggling against hardships after her husband dies in the movie, which set in the US. Balki, director of Cheeni Kum and Paa, takes a backseat as the producer overseeing the directorial debut of his wife Gauri Shinde.

I, Me Aur Main: Kapil Sharma, son of astronaut Rakesh Sharma, makes his directorial debut with this slice-of-life movie. Chitrangada Singh and Prachi Desai also feature with John Abraham, who's also producing the film with Goldie Behl-Srishti Arya and Reliance Entertainment.

Release: To be announced

Ishq In Paris: Preity Zinta makes her debut as a producer while also doubling up as the leading lady. Helmed by her good friend Prem Soni (Main Aur Mrs Khanna), this one also stars French actress Isabelle Adjani and as the title suggests, is a love story set in Paris.

Release: June 29

Vicky Donor: Director Shoojit Sircar has a tough task on hand with this one. More so because it's reported to launch Hema Malini's daughter Ahana as an actress, paired opposite Prateik. Besides, it's John Abraham's solo production.

Release: To be announced.

Shirin Farhad: Bela Sehgal, editor sister of Sanjay Leela Bhansali, finally makes her directorial debut. Interestingly, director Farah Khan makes her debut as an actress, paired with Boman Irani.

Release: To be announced.