The new year brings with it an astonishing potential for talent – fresh names that might usher in the disruption needed for the Hindi film industry. The last year ended with Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan announcing the completion of his screenplay, reportedly a web series produced by Red Chillies Entertainment which he is also set to showrun. This year, just the month of January rings in two new directorial debuts – Aasmaan Bhardwaj with Kuttey and Shantanu Bagchi with Mission Majnu – each backed by established production houses and a staggering cast. Additionally, Zoya Akhtar’s The Archies will single-handedly launch six new actors while many new faces will follow during the rest of the year. Here are a few debuts to look forward to.
Shantanu Bagchi with Mission Majnu
Shantanu Bagchi, who has had a significant career as an ad filmmaker, will debut as a Bollywood director with Mission Majnu. The film is “based on true events” according to the makers and stars Sidharth Malhotra as a kohl-lined spy during the 1971 India-Pakistan war, alongside Rashmika Mandanna. The film is produced by RSVP and Guilty by Association. Initially slated to release in theatres in mid-2022, it faced several delays before finally announcing its premiere on Netflix on 20 January 2023. Given the film’s fast-paced narrative, star power and the backing of a streaming giant, Bagchi has the stage set for making a memorable directorial debut. “Doing my first with RSVP and GBA, working with such talented actors like Sidharth Malhotra and Rashmika Mandana and finally seeing all of this come to life with Netflix has been such a surreal experience,” he shared with a .
Aasmaan Bhardwaj with Kuttey
One of the most anticipated releases of the year, Aasmaan Bharadwaj’s Kuttey promises a crime caper with dark humour and shares an aesthetic resemblance to his father and director Vishal Bhardwaj’s Kaminey. (We also don’t mind the kinship between the two titles). Featuring a terrific cast – Tabu, Konkona Sen Sharma, Arjun Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah and Radhika Madan – the film also sees Vishal Bhardwaj donning the hat of a co-writer, music composer and co-producer; for the latter, Bharadwaj teamed up with Luv Ranjan films and T-Series. Talking about the debutant director, lead actor Arjun Kapoor said in an , “When Vishalji and Aasmaan narrated the film, what drew me was that he wasn’t trying to ape his father. There is reminiscence of the learnings he has had from his dad.” It sounds like Aasmaan Bhardwaj is out to pave his own path and we’re here for it. Kuttey releases in theatres on 13 January 2023.