As far as Bollywood is concerned, 2008 was an interesting one. Price cuts happened, films got shelved and producers backed out of film deals, too. The year belonged to three superstars, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar. It was also the year when smaller budget films such as Aamir, A Wednesday, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, to name just a few, became surprise hits.

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So what’ll be in store for Bollywood 2009?

Plenty, if one goes by this year’s Bollywood calendar. The first mega treat will be Akshay Kumar-Deepika Padukone starrer Chandni Chowk to China, a film about a simple cook from Chandni Chowk who travels to China and is mistaken for a warrior in a local China village. The film, directed by Rohan Sippy and releasing on January 16, looks like a winner already and will ensure that 2009 begins on a bright note. There’s also Zoya Akhtar’s Luck By Chance, a film that stars her brother Farhan Akhtar. The film’s been in-the-making for over two years and will finally release on Jaunary 30, 2009.

Then there’s Slumdog Millionaire, a film that’s been sporting “house full” boards in the US, winning accolades and awards at film festivals and which will finally be released in India, in Hindi and English, on January 23.

If Slumdog Millionaire is about an underdog’s rise to stardom, Indian cinema’s own underdog Abhay Deol, who has made some unconventional choices in the films that he’s done, will be seen in Anurag Kashyap’s Dev.D, which, in the director’s own words, is a contemporary love story and an adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’ classic Devdas. Produced by UTV Spotboy, the film, says Kashyap, “reflects the conflicts of today’s youth. It’s about a generation that’s jammed between Eastern roots and Western sensibilities.” The film, releasing on February 6, 2009, is set in rustic Punjab but also explores the dingy, morbid, dark underbelly of — no, not Mumbai — Delhi.

The city of Delhi, in fact, will be the focus of a lot of Hindi films in 2009. There’s Delhi Belly, Aamir Khan’s next production vehicle, starring Imran Khan, Kunal Kapoor and stand-up comedian Vir Das, that has been shot completely in the numerous streets of New and Old Delhi. The film will release in April 2009.

That apart, Chandni Chowk to China and Imtiaz Ali’s next (releasing in mid-2009) will have a generous sprinkling of the bylanes of Delhi too. Also Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra’s Delhi 6 (number six being Chandni Chowk’s postal code) that will show the journey of NRI Roshan (played by Abhishek Bachchan) from the US into the walled city of Delhi and how affected he finds his own people by religion and religious beliefs.

In fact, the subject of young Indians in search of their own identities is a theme that a lot of directors will touch upon in Bollywood 2009. There’s New York, a Yash Raj Films’ offering, directed by Kabir Khan. The film looks at Katrina Kaif, John Abraham and Neil Nitin Mukesh, all Muslim youngsters studying in New York who eventually find themselves embroiled in events leading to 9/11. Even Karan Johar’s My Name is Khan (releasing in November 2009) will take a look at how a simple man (Shah Rukh Khan) attracts unwanted attention because of his Muslim identity.

There’ll be Vipul Shah’s London Dreams. Indian Films was acquiring its rights — much before its release — for Rs 90 crore. Today, however, the fate of this film hangs uncertainly. London Dreams stars Ajay Devgan and Salman Khan (bankable but not quite the saleable stars) and is set to release in mid-2009.

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