Bhubaneswar: As theatres have opened with 100% capacity due to the slowdown of COVID spread, movies have lined up for release to pull the audience back to theatres.
While the production houses in the Bollywood, which had witnessed dry run for almost two years due to the pandemic induced lockdown, are on an overdrive to churn out new ventures, the OTT platforms run on parallel mode for the movie buffs.
As per a survey of Local Circles, a social media community, 41% of moviegoers are planning to watch their favourite films in next 60 days marking over 75% rise over the audience in cinema last year. Films such as Kashmir Files, KGF 2 and RRR are a glowing witness to the rising footfall in cinema theatres this year.
Here are top five picks of films that will be released in theatres and OTT in May:
1. Thar
Writer-Director Raj Kumar Chaudhury known for his gritty flicks such as ‘Gulaal’ and ‘No Smoking’, this time has ventured into desert clad Pushkar as a wide canvas. The film’s plot revolves around a grisly murder suspected to be committed by an outsider (Harshvardhan Kapoor) with Anil Kapoor playing the cop to catch him red-handed. The trailer looks promising with the spectacular chemistry of father-son duo.
Cast: Fatima Sana Sheikh, Harshvardhan Kapoor, Anil Kapoor and Satish Kaushik.
Release date: May 6
Platform : Netflix
2. Jhund
Nagraj Popatrao Manjule’s ‘Jhund’ is making its comeback to ZEE5 after it hit the theatres on May 4. The film narrates the story of slum kids who break the barriers of dark world to make their way to the national football team. The film is inspired by the real life story of Vijay Barse who founded “Slum Soccer” and enlightened the life of many slum kids through football. Amitabh Bachan shoulders the film with his suave demeanour and dazzling camaraderie that he sports with the slum kids. The movie deals with the deep societal divide and uses sports as a weapon to diminish it.
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Akash Thossar, Rinku Rajguru, Ankur Mashram
Release Date: May 6
Platform : ZEE5
3. Bhool Bhulaiya 2
Priyadarshan’s initial instalment of this movie which starred Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan and Rajpal Yadav was a laugh riot which reinvented the genre of horror-comedy in Bollywood. This time, ‘Welcome’ fame director Anees Bazmee is directing its second instalment with Karthik Aryan, Tabu and Kiara Advani playing the key roles. After its teaser, Karthik Aaryan’s fans were rejoiced that he would be playing the role of a tantric.
Release date: May 20
Cast: Karthik Aaryan, Tabu, Kiara Advani
Platform : Theatres
4. Anek
With ‘Anek’, director Anubhav Sinha has come out with a bang since his directorial ‘Mulk’ after which his movies consistently tried to focus the social problems and gender equality to make the audience rethink the corrosions in our social system. Anek, a political action thriller, features Ayushmann Khurana in key role. He would be seen playing the an undercover cop in action mode. It would narrate the efforts of a police officer and his dedications to protect the unity and sovereignty of the country.
Release date: May 27
Platform : Theatres
5. Dhakkad
Kangana Ranaut, who has been featured in a series of female centric and independent cinemas recently, would be directed by ad-filmmaker Rajneesh Razy Ghai in ‘Dhakkad’. The teaser presents a gun-toting Kangana doing some mind-blowing stunts. Inside sources revealed that some of the action sequences enacted by Kangana are out of the world. Dhakkad, which has been in the post production for the last 9 months, is expected to mark its special place this year.
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Divya Dutta, Arjun Rampal, Sharib Hashmi
Release date: May 20
