PIX: Hindi Films To Look Forward To in 2013

The year 2012 passed out with relatively flying colours.

And, now, 2013 hopes to follow suit with its mix of much-anticipated biggies and edgy offerings from young, promising filmmakers.

Whether these films will live up to the expectation, we don't know. But are we excited to see them hit the screens sometime soon? Most certainly! 

Here then is my pick of 15 films I am looking forward to in 2013 and why. 

Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola

After the unpleasant 7 Khoon Maaf, Vishal Bhardwaj is back with a whimsical, rustic romance-comedy about an oddball troika of father-daughter (Pankaj Kapoor, Anushka Sharma) and their employee (Imran Khan).

The soundtrack with the trademark Vishal-Gulzar combination is, expectedly, fabulous. 

But I have a feeling a certain Gulabi Bhains is the real scene-stealer of this show. 

Finally an Akshay Kumar film that is neither a remake of some South Indian potboiler nor a dimwit franchise to tickle at all costs. 

Directed by Neeraj Pandey, the force behind one of 2008's best films A Wednesday, Special Chabbis is a swift heist drama wherein an organised gang, pretending to be CBI officials, raids and robs a jewellery store.  

With its imaginative promotions and impressive cast, also featuring Anupam Kher and Manoj Bajpayee in key roles, Special Chabbis has my attention.

While I did find the Tamil version's teaser a tad more thrilling, the Hindi edition of Bejoy Nambiar's bilingual appears no less kinetic.

With the visually-alluring Shaitan, Nambiar has already established himself as someone who understands technique, David looks bigger and more ambitious with its multi-narrative structure about three men -- Neil Nitin Mukesh, Vikram, Vinay Virmani named David.

Oh and there's Tabu!

Alright, two ways to look at it.

A) Shah Rukh Khan in a Rohit Shetty film. B) Shah Rukh Khan in a Rohit Shetty film.

While one implies SRK joins the masala bandwagon or it could be a case of anything that shows him in a brand new light/mood/sensibility cannot be THAT bad.

The synopsis of Chennai Express, which reunites SRK with Om Shanti Om co-star Deepika Padukone, only reveals it's a journey of man from Mumbai to Rameshwaram.

Let's just hope it fares WAY better than the other Express, also released in 2013.

Five years after Rock On!, Abhishek Kapoor moves on from Maqik to direct his new film, based on Chetan Bhagat's The 3 Mistakes of My Life. 

Kai Po Che revolves around three friends played by Sushant Singh Rajput, Raj Kumar Yadav and Amit Sadh and their coming-of-age against events like Gujarat earthquake and riots.

And if the breezy promos are any indication, Kai Po Che might be the surprise package of 2013.

Given his body of work in such a short span, anything starring Ranbir Kapoor automatically piques interest. 

All the more if it directed by Dabanng's Abhinav Kashyap, stars his real life parents -- Rishi and Neetu Kapoor as his reel life mommy-daddy and teases us with a flamboyant poster carrying this audacious tagline -- Naa samman ka moh, na apmaan ka bhay. 

If Besharam works, brace yourself for a flood of movie titles like Budthameez, Bewakoof, Buzdil, Badmaash, Behuda, Bakwaas, the works.

After last year's stunning delivery from Irrfan Khan in and as Paan Singh Tomar, Bollywood will witness another inspiring tale of a real-life sportsman come alive on celluloid.

Farhan Akhtar has made visible effort to lend credibility to Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's ambitious biopic on Indian athlete Milkha Singh.

Whether he'll be able to convey the anxiety and drive of the Flying Sikh beyond a striking physique remains to be seen in this dramatic, glossy take co-starring Sonam Kapoor. 

Every new project Aamir Khan takes on is nothing short of an event.

And from the time he signs it till we actually see it; this inquisitiveness refuses to die down. 

Currently, all focus is on Dhoom 3, the Yash Raj franchise that prides itself on bigger, better villains with every passing installment. 

After John Abraham and Hrithik Roshan, it's AK turn (along with Katrina Kaif with whom he's never been paired before) to make life hell for Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra as usual. 

What's most interesting is that he plays a gymnast in the caper. Sounds dhoom to me.

Normally, I'd dismiss a title like Bullet Raja as yet another of those offensive remakes that seem to have completely taken over the Hindi entertainment scene.

A closer look at the credits reveals 'directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia' and suddenly this film, odious title notwithstanding, looks like a favourable proposition. 

Set in the North Indian badlands, Dhulia's desi gangster squad comprises of Saif Ali Khan, Ravi Kisshen, Chunky Pandey and Sonakshi Sinha.

The Wake Up Sid duo of director Ayan Mukerji and Ranbir Kapoor join hands on the Karan Johar-produced rom-com teaming the actor with his former girlfriend Deepika Padukone.

Not only does Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, co-starring Aditya Roy Kapur and Kalki Koechlin, belong to the frothy genre but is said to pay tribute to the Nasir Hussain's era of musicals like Dil Dekke Dekho and Tumsa Nahi Dekha.

The Dirty Picture couple, Emraan Hashmi and Vidya Balan, had a rather superb 2012.

In a bid to continue with the tradition, the duo collaborates on No One Killed Jessica and Aamir director Rajkumar Gupta's crime comedy, Ghanchakkar. 

So Hashmi plays an ex-con guy wheedled into going that path once again by his pushy better half, played by Balan leading to a wacky, bumpy ride.

Could be fun, this.

If there is one Indian superhero that truly worked, it's Krrish.

And now Hrithik Roshan is ready to wear his cool mask and slip that painfully achieved torso in a trench coat suit once more to battle a fresh batch of villains (Vivek Oberoi, Kangna Ranaut) in daddy Rakesh Roshan's Krrish 3.

Boasting of enchanced SFX, dynamic action and a super-charged Hrithik, Krrish 3 is bound to get a LOT of attention from its target audience -- kids.

Akshay Kumar is on a, more than welcome, makeover note in 2013.

The man plays an underworld don in Milan Luthria's follow-up to the uber stylish OUATIM, which also stars Imran Khan, Sonakshi Sinha and Sonali Bendre (who'll be seen on screen after ages in a supporting role).

Akshay and Imran, hmm. Curious to see their on-screen dynamics, aren't you?

Either this will be as memorable or crash under the burden of the expectations generated by the previous one.

Udaan was one of my favourite films of 2010.

And so it's no surprise that Vikramaditya Motwane's next, despite a cast I am not utterly fond of (Ranveer Singh, Sonakshi Sinha) is something I am keenly anticipating. 

Lootera, a period romance set in the 1950s is partly inspired by O Henry's short story The Last Leaf and deals with the equations of young couple and the challenges faced by their love. 

What was that? O Henry? Bring it on, alright!

After 318 minutes of gritty revenge in the two installments of Gangs of Wasseypur, Anurag Kashyap is focusing his energies on a thriller named Ugly. 

Given Kashyap's penchant for portraying grim aspects of society with incisive filmmaking, there's no reason to believe Ugly starring Ronit Roy and Tejwasini Kolhapure should be any different.