This  Fortnight’s Blockbuster Lineup

Movie theatres have  a lot to smile about this month. There is a  lineup of impressive big-banner  Bollywood bonanzas ready to spin some profits into a recession-ridden entertainment  industry. A look at the  lineup

1.Top Gun Maverick: It’s already being hailed  by critics the  worldover as one of Tom Cruise’s most important films. In other words, an instant classic. 35 years after Top Gun  created  boxofffice history the sequel  is here. In India  the  advance bookings opened three weeks ahead of the release date May 27. The aerial hijinks are  said to be vastly superior to  what we saw  in the  first Top Gun film. Would  it feature any songs on a par with the band Berlin’s  evergreen  You Take My Break Away? The original song doresn’t feature  in the sequel.

2. Bhool Bhulaiya 2: On the other hand, the peppy Pritam  peddle-pusher  Hare ram hare krishna  from  the original Bhool Bhulaiya is  very  much part  of  the  sequel.Quite  easily and breezily  the  film of  the  Month, Bhoola Bhulaiya2  is expected  to outperform the first part  of  the fear-jeer fusion  Franchise, with  Kartik Aaryan  taking over from where Akshay Kumar left  off. This time the  helmer  of the hectic hilarity is Anees Bazmi .He has done a  chest-thumping job of setting the screen on fire with his ferociously funny  fireworks. The films is  expected to continue  Kartik’s uninterrupted boxoffice success. The  producers are  already planning BB3 with the  Kartik. Releasing May 20
3. Dhaakad: In this original espionage action-thriller Kangana Ranaut, the one-woman-army returns with a  mission to destroy a  drug trafficker   played  by Arjun Rampal. Arjun had earlier played the archvillain opposite Shah Rukh Khan  in Ra.One.The crackling synergy of  the  warring duo should see  the film through, although Bhool Bhulaiya2  is  bound to give  it a tough time at the  boxoffice. Releasing on May 20.
4. Anek: A  film by Anubhav Sinha has  come to signify something much more than entertainment.Something far more enduring and impactful. Sinha and Ayushmann Khurrana had earlier teamed up for the masterpiece Article 15  in 2019. This time  the  director-actor combination takes  us  to the North-East to explore the politics of  isolation.Releasing on  May 27.

5.Sarkaru Vaari Paata : In spite of  the  mixed  reviews  it’s a  blockuster .Telugu superstar   Mahesh Babu returns with a tailormade family entertainer.This time he takes on corruption and  redtapism in the banking system while making sure he takes  time off  to romance the  very beautiful  Keerthy Suresh who last week scored a  resounding success with  in Tamil with  Saani Kaayidham  on Amazon Prime Video. But let’s not beat around the bush: it is Mahesh Babu  audiences will flock to see  in  this  full-on entertainer  and Mahesh says  this  is  as much  a  pan-India  film as  as any Bollywood film.  “It is time we  stopped creating these  false demarcation lines  between  regional and national films,” says  Mahesh . Copy that.