Upcoming Movies

Drona

The players: Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Kay Kay Menon, Jaya Bachchan

The maker: Goldie Behl

The plot: Somewhere in the land of myth, magic and mystery a regular guy (Bachchan) comes to terms with his super hero status which involves battling the spiteful, power-hungry baddie (Menon) with a cool sword in hand and feisty she-bodyguard (Chopra) in tow.

Pros: After Krrish, maybe the audience is ready to place their bets on the zardozi-clad knight with extraordinary powers. Abhishek does possess the requisite intensity and presence to pull this off. Besides, there's this chemistry thing between him and Priyanka, which as witnessed in Bluffmaster, works very well.

Cons: The promos make Drona seem like a compilation of a zillion Hollywood fantasy flicks.

Release date: October 2.

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Kidnap

The players: Sanjay Dutt, Imran Khan, Minissha Lamba, Vidya Malvade.

The maker: Sanjay Gadhvi

The plot: Boy meets girl gets a twist. Hot guy (Khan) holds hot girl (Lamba) hostage. Next, he sets up a series of tasks for her estranged billionaire papa (Dutt) to perform, before the latter can come to her rescue.

Pros: Imran Khan is a fine actor and has aroused considerable curiosity among audiences with his unusual choice of second film. Also, Kidnap is a refreshing break for its director Sanjay Gadhvi after the mindless yet profitable Dhoom movies.

Cons: Gadhvi does have a soft corner for style over substance.

Release date: October 2.

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Karzzzz

The players: Himesh Reshammiya, Urmila Matondkar, Shweta Kumar.

The maker: Satish Kaushik

The plot: South-Africa based rock star (Reshammiya) finds love in a pretty dancer (Kumar), only she happens to be under the guardianship of a woman (Matondkar) he dated and got killed by in his previous birth.

Pros: Reincarnation has usually been a lucrative theme at the box-office. Not to forget singer-turned-actor Reshammiya's overwhelming popularity or the bumper opening of his debut, Aap Ka Surroor.

Cons: As in case of most remakes, purists are bound to thumb down Kaushik's reworking of Subhash Ghai's musical drama of romance, rebirth and revenge.

Release Date: October 17.

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Fashion

The players: Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut, Mughda Godse, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Arbaaz Khan.

The maker: Madhur Bhandarkar

The plot: A small-town girl (Chopra) hits big-time success on the runway. But the stress and insecurity of leading a high-profile existence in the cut-throat world of modeling is no catwalk, as she subsequently discovers.

Pros: The premise definitely has our attention. Ditto for the cast.

Cons: Fashion isn't everyone's cup of tea and there's a possibility a significant section of the audience might not relate with it.

Release date: October 29.

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Golmaal Returns

The players: Ajay Devgan, Kareena Kapoor, Tusshar Kapoor, Arshad Warsi, Shreyas Talpade, Celina Jaitley and Amrita Arora.

The maker: Rohit Shetty

The plot: In a comedy of confusion, a guy (Devgan), with some help from his friends (Kapoor, Talpade), creates one delusion after another to save his skin from the suspicious other half (Kareena). That they have a mysterious murder to deal with only adds to the mayhem.

Pros: Golmaal had its moments. Hopefully, so will the sequel. Besides watching Omkara's Omi and Dolly in a new light should be interesting.

Cons: Mixing mystery with comedy isn't always a bright idea. Remember the deal with Shetty's Sunday?

Release date: October 29.

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Billo Barber

The players: Shah Rukh Khan, Irrfan Khan, Lara Dutta.

The maker: Priyadarshan

The plot: Unable to adjust himself with changing times, a barber (Irrfan) hits an all time low in business. And then one fine day, his superstar childhood friend (SRK) comes in neighbourhood and life takes a turn for the better.

Pros: SRK and Irffan sharing screen space to play a contemporary Lord Krishna and Sudama? Sounds good! Buzz is Kareena Kapoor and Deepika Padukone will pitch in an item number each.

Cons: This is not a regular SRK flick. Maybe that's also a good thing.

Release date: November 7.

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Dostana

The players: Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra and Bobby Deol.

The maker: Tarun Mansukhani

The plot: Two guys (Bachchan, Abraham), a girl (Chopra), living under one roof in Miami. Complications arise when the girl develops a crush on one of them. Only he likes him better than her.

Pros: It's a trendy, young-looking rom-com shot in the land of bikini and beaches -- Miami.

Cons: The audience might feel tired of seeing Priyanka in so many films, one after another, this year (Golden bikini, notwithstanding). Also, it's a tricky subject, which is definitely bound to raise eyebrows.

Release date: November 14.

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Yuvraaj

The players: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Zayed Khan and Mithun Chakravarthy.

The maker: Subhash Ghai

The plot: Yuvraaj revolves around the young men who don't have the faintest idea of what they want but will go after it with rebellion anyway.

Pros: It'll be intriguing to watch Salman deliver under Ghai's guidance. Also, his equation with Katrina in a non-David Dhawan caper.

Cons: What if it turns out to be another one of Ghai's star-studded, soul-less extravaganza. Taal, Yaadein or Kisna, anyone?

Release date: November 21.

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Kambakth Ishq

The players: Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor, Aftab Shivdasani, Amrita Arora.

The maker: Sabir Khan

The plot: What happens when a daring stuntman (Kumar) falls for a Page 3 types (Kapoor)? Kambakth ishq, indeed!

Pros: Akshay Kumar! The man is on a roll. Also, Sylvester Stallone making his Bollywood debut, even if it's only a special appearance.

Cons: Debutant director Sabir Khan might not have the experience to do justice to the film, shot on a multi-crore canvas, extensively in Hollywood and more, with Bollywood's A-listers like Akki and Kareena.

Release date: December 5.

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Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

The players: Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma

The maker: Aditya Chopra

The plot: Older guy, younger girl. It's not exactly a match made in heaven. But that's that.

Pros: Aditya Chopra returns to direct after a long break. And as always SRK is his leading man.

Cons: Audiences might be fed up of love stories with huge age-gaps after Nishabd and Cheeni Kum.

Release date: December 12.

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Ghajini

The players: Aamir Khan, Jiah Khan, Asin.

The maker: A R Murugadoss

The plot: A man (Khan) suffering from short-term memory loss finds himself in a very dodgy situation. How he deals with it forms the crux of the plot.

Pros: Ever since its announcement to Aamir' shaved look, the Hindi remake of the Tamil hit, Ghajini has evoked huge levels of excitement. More importantly, the perfectionist and his films are synonymous with substance.

Cons: Perhaps it's dark theme with only revenge on its mind.

Release date: December 26.