Mark the date. March 11, 2016, will be remembered as the day when Himesh Reshammiya made yet another bid to become a movie star. Apart from three Hollywood titles, this is also the week of the re-release of the multiple Oscar-winning Mad Max: Fury Road.
Teraa Surroor Singer and composer Himesh Reshammiya has appeared in a handful of films, including Aap Kaa Surroor: The Moviee – The Real Luv Story and The Xpose. Undeterred by the commercial failure of these films, the granite-faced musician is back in Tera Surroor as Raghu, a deadly undercover assassin who strives to free his lady love Tara (Farah Karimaee) from prison and the clutches of an arch-villain with the PIL-baiting name Anirudh Brahmin. The cast includes acting veterans Kabir Bedi, Shekhar Kapur and Naseeruddin Shah, and the movie has been directed by Shawn Arranha.
Triple 9 A mob of Russians gets a team of corrupt police officers and former special forces operatives to pull off a daring heist that goes badly wrong. Billed as a thriller with breakneck action and violence, the movie has a power-packed cast that includes Kate Winslet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Antony Mackie, Woody Harrelson and Casey Affleck. Directed by John Hillcoat, who has previously made The Proposition, The Road and Lawless.
Race The significantly titled biopic on American athlete Jesse Owens tells the story of how he won four gold medals at the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936. His greatest adversary is not on the track but in the stands – the racist dictator Adolf Hitler. The movie is set between 1934 and 1936 and stars Stephan James, who appeared in Selma, as the legendary runner. Jeremy Irons, William Hurt and Jason Sudeikis are also part of the cast.
The Program The second sports biopic that is being released on March 11 depicts the fall of disgraced American cyclist Lance Armstrong. Directed by British filmmaker Stephen Frears, The Program is based on Sunday Times journalist David Walsh’s 2012 expose Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit of Lance Armstrong. The book traces Walsh’s 13-year campaign to prove that Armstrong had won his seven Tour de France titles with the help of banned substances rather than God-given talent. In 2012, Armstrong was stripped of his seven titles and banned from cycling for life. Ben Foster plays the cyclist, while Chris O’Dowd is Walsh.
Global Baba One of the catchiest titles of the year thus far stars Abhimanyu Singh (Gulaal, Rakta Charitra, Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ramleela). Singh plays Chillam Pehelwan, a history sheeter who becomes a godman after he gets into trouble with his political patrons. As “Global Baba”, the strongman finds that he has more power than he can handle. Directed by Manoj Tiwari, the movie also stars Bhojpuri star Ravi Kishan, Sanjay Mishra and Pankaj Tripathi.