After a dull box office in 2022, Bollywood is gearing up for some big action in 2023 with a slew of star-powered films. 2023 could well be the year of comebacks — Shah Rukh Khan is resurfacing with three films, Karan Johar will return with his new directorial, and Salman Khan will unleash his third Tiger movie. That’s not all. Prabhas, Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan and Ranbir Kapoor have a slate of releases too. Here’s our list of the 15 most-anticipated Hindi movies of 2023.
Pathaan
Siddharth Anand’s upcoming action thriller Pathaan will mark the return of Shah Rukh Khan. The fourth instalment in YRF’s Spy Universe also stars Deepika Padukone and John Abraham. The song Besharam Rang, featuring Shah Rukh and Deepika, and Shah Rukh’s new look for the film have generated a lot of excitement already.
Tentative release date: January 25
Shehzada
Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon will reunite after Luka Chupi for this remake of Trivikram Srinivas’s 2020 Telugu blockbuster Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo. Kartik plays the lead in Shehzada, directed by Rohit Dhawan of Dishoom and Desi Boyz fame. The film also stars Paresh Rawal, Manisha Koirala, Ronit Roy and Sachin Khedekar.
Tentative release date: February 10
Maidaan
Starring Ajay Devgn as Syed Abdul Rahim — referred to as the architect of modern Indian football — Maidaan is a sports drama directed by Amit Ravindernath Sharma. Based on the golden period of Indian football (1952-62), the star cast includes Priyamani, Rudranil Ghosh, Abhinay Raj Singh and Gajraj Rao.
Tentative release date: February 17
Selfiee
A remake of Lal Jr’s 2019 Malayalam film Driving Licence, Raj Mehta’s Selfiee stars Akshay Kumar, Emraan Hashmi, Diana Penty, Nushrratt Bharuccha and Tisca Chopra. It’s a comedy drama produced by Karan Johar and Prithviraj Sukumaran. Akshay recently shared his look for the upcoming film, dressed in colourful faux fur.
Tentative release date: February 24
Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway
The true story of an immigrant Indian couple whose children were taken away by Norwegian welfare services in 2011, Ashima Chibber’s upcoming film stars Rani Mukerji in the lead role of a mother who fights to get her kids back.
Tentative release date: March 3
Bholaa
An official remake of Lokesh Kanagaraj’s 2019 Tamil hit Kaithi, Bholaa — directed by Ajay Devgn — revolves around a prisoner who is returning home after ten years of prison life to meet his young daughter. But his journey is not without hurdles and danger at every step. The action thriller has Ajay Devgn and Tabu in lead roles.
Tentative release date: March 30
Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani
Karan Johar dons the director’s hat after six years for Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, starring Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh. The romantic drama also includes Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Tota Roy Chowdhury and Churni Ganguly.
Tentative release date: April 28
Jawan
Written and directed by Atlee, Jawan is an action thriller with Shah Rukh Khan in a double role. Nayanthara, Vijay Sethupathi and Sanya Malhotra are his co-stars.
Tentative release date: June 2
Adipurush
Written and directed by Om Raut, Adipurush is a mythological film based on the Ramayana. Shot simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu, the film stars Prabhas as Raghava, Kriti Sanon as Janaki, and Saif Ali Khan as Lankesh. The makers faced backlash online after a teaser of the film dropped in October, and revealed low-quality VFX. The film is reportedly being reshot, as a result of which its January release was put on hold.
Tentative release date: June 16
Animal
Director Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s upcoming Hindi film Animal will feature Ranbir Kapoor, Rashmika Mandanna, Parineeti Chopra, Anil Kapoor and Bobby Deol in key roles. The gangster drama explores the relationship dynamics between the characters, bringing out their ‘animal’ instincts.
Tentative release date: August 15
Salaar
Baahubali star Prabhas has teamed up with Shruti Haasan for Prashanth Neel’s upcoming action thriller. Produced by Hombale Films, Salaar also features Prithviraj Sukumaran and Jagapathi Babu in key roles. Eashwari Rao, who had played Saran Shakthi’s screen mother in KGF: Chapter 2, is playing Prabhas’s screen mother in Salaar, giving rise to speculations about a possible crossover between the two films.
Tentative release date: September 28
Tiger 3
After Ek Tha Tiger and Tiger Zinda Hai, Tiger and Zoya will be back in the third instalment of the espionage franchise featuring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif in lead roles. Directed by Maneesh Sharma, Tiger 3 will be a reunion of sorts for Salman and his Love co-star Revathy on screen, although they are not paired opposite each other.
Tentative release date: November 10
Sam Bahadur
Directed by Meghna Gulzar, Sam Bahadur is a biopic of Sam Manekshaw, the Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War. Vicky Kaushal will slip into the shoes of Maneskshaw, who was the first Indian army officer to be promoted to the rank of field marshal.
Tentative release date: December 1
Dunki
Dunki brings Shah Rukh and Rajkumar Hirani, the director of the Munnabhai films and 3 Idiots, together for the first time. Also starring Taapsee Pannu, the film revolves around the racket behind the illegal route known as Donkey Flight, used by Indians to immigrate to countries like Canada and USA.
Tentative release date: December 22