We're done with 2008.

It's been a middling year, and here's a list of big-screen spectacular releases to look forward to next year. Things can only get better.

Akshay Kumar strikes again. The Kung Fu Hustle style trailer is the the funnest looking in a long time, and Nikhil Advani's far too polished a director to let his scripts get completely asinine. Not that it matters, when its a masala film promising the spectacular and Kumar -- the man who doesn't seem capable to planting a mainstream foot wrong -- is in the centre of things.




Ace director Rajkumar Hirani finally moves outside of his fabulous Munna and Circuit characters to take on the Indian education system.

The director has confirmed that this film is an original script, and not based on Chetan Bhagat's Five Point Someone (a good piece of news to all of those people who sat through the execrable Hello). Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Sharman Joshi make for an interesting cast, but we're all just waiting to see Hirani bat again.




Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra became one of the most respected directors in the industry with his apathy-shattering Rang De Basanti a couple of years ago, and we've had to wait three years to see what he does next.

This one is a take on a seamy, colourful, mad part of Delhi called Delhi-6, and stars Abhishek Bachchan opposite Sonam Kapoor. We're expecting texture and metaphor, and the current trailer has our curiosity piqued. Bring it on.




Karan Johar seems to completely have dropped the K, and the subject matter for his next Shah Rukh Khan starrer is intriguing, to say the least: Khan plays a man targetted at an airport because of his last name and his religion, and that discrimination gives rise to many a question.

Then again, the film's been written by Shibani Bhatija, who wrote Fanaa and Kidnap, so maybe we shouldn't go in expecting answers.




Vishal Bhardwaj leaves Shakespeare out of the mix this time with this magnificently named project, starring Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra. Remember, this is the man who showed us just how capable Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor were, so it's wise to prepare for fireworks.

The film's story is still closely guarded, but all we know is that Taare Zameen Par writer Amole Gupte plays the villain in the film. Whatever, man. We're sold on Bhardwaj and that fantastic title.




Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor star in this massive budget film about an Indian stuntman who becomes a sensation across Hollywood. The film features several prominent Hollywood players, including Sylvester Stallone, Carmen Electra, Bondgirl Denise Richards and Superman star Brandon Routh.

It's quite a coup by Bollywood standards, and one hopes for an entertaining evening of big-screen proportions




After making Socha Na Tha and Jab We Met on a decidedly comedic note, director Imtiaz Ali has chosen to tread the relatively unpopulated romantic-drama waters for his next film, one starring Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone.

The film is currently jetting around the world and shooting everywhere, and we're just curious to see what Imtiaz does next.




Sujoy Ghosh's film has been in production for the longest time. Ritesh Deshmukh stars as Alladin while Amitabh Bachchan takes on the role of the genie in this rather zany take on the original.

The film is a special effects spectacular and by now, we just want to see what in the world has taken this long to make.




Director Ayaan Mukherji makes his debut with this film that promises to be interesting simply because of its unconventional pairing.

Ranbir Kapoor, pinup boy-to-be and current heart-throb of the masses, cast opposite indie queen Konkona Sensharma? We're waiting to see how these two very different genre-representatives get along, and the title sounds fun too.




Katrina Kaif stars opposite Ranbir Kapoor in this film by Raj Kumar Santoshi. That's right, the socially aware blockbuster-maker is back with a film that sounds pretty darned unusual.