There is a flood of releases for the week starting October 7 (and we are only counting the Hindi and English titles).
Mirzya Rakeysh Mehra’s long-awaited version of the tragic romance Mirza-Sahiban places the lovers in the past and present in Rajasthan. The star-crossed romance, starring debutant actors Harshvardhan Kapoor and Saiyami Kher, has a screenplay by Gulzar, who has also written the lyrics for Shankar-Ehsan Loy’s score.
Queen of Katwe Mira Nair’s biopic of Ugandan chess prodigy Phiona Mutesi is the director’s second film after Mississippi Masala to be set in her adopted homeland. The movie explores the remarkable rise of a talented young chess player from Kampala’s Katwe slum and her struggle to achieve national and international glory. The cast includes Hollywood crossover artists David Oyelowo and Lupita Nyong’o along with Madina Nalwanga as Phiona.
Tutak Tutak Tutiya A trilingual that will also be released in Telugu and Tamil, this Prabudeva production is a comedy-laced horror film starring the loose-limbed choreographer as a dancer and Tamannah Bhatia as an actress. Sonu Sood and Amy Jackson complete the cast, while Farah Khan has a cameo, playing herself.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children The mouthful of a title refers to the source (Ransom Riggs’s debut novel). Tim Burton directs the story of an orphan who seeks refuge at a home for outcast children with strange powers that is run by Miss Peregrine (Eva Green). The cast includes Terrence Stamp, Asa Butterfield, Samuel L Jackson, Judi Dench, Chris O’Dowd and Rupert Everett.
MSG The Warrior – Lion Heart Dera Sacha Sauda cult leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s third movie holds out the promise of being less propaganda video and more spy thriller. Singh plays a secret agent who protects the planet from social evils and an alien attack.
Within A widower marries again and moves into a new house, but his marital bliss is shattered by a series of strange occurrences. Phil Claydon directs the latest entry in the haunted house category.