Aamir Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Shahid Kapoor: Look who's back in the spotlight this year

The word ‘comeback’ is suddenly creating all the buzz in Bollywood as 2024 kicks off. Shah Rukh Khan’s hattrick of hits in the year gone by is the yardstick, and social media, as well as the film trade, is now talking in terms of Bollywood stars who have been absent from the scene for a while or are long due for a major blockbuster at the box office, and have interesting projects lined up in 2024. The theory that a rejuvenated domestic market is ready for more comebacks primarily rests on Shah Rukh Khan’s scoring the record-smashing Pathaan and Jawan last year after a five-year sabbatical from the big screen, and then following it up with the successful Dunki in December. Sunny Deol’s return with the blockbuster _Gadar 2: The Katha Continues_ has boosted the notion, too, in an industry that is quick to hunt for patterns and constantly engages in trendspotting. Indeed, 2024 is a year that has quickly been hyped as one that could see a few crucial comebacks in Bollywood. Being pitched for big bang returns to the spotlight this year are Aamir Khan, Hrithik Roshan and Shahid Kapoor . On the other hand, Akshay Kumar, Varun Dhawan and Tiger Shroff will urgently look for a long-awaited blockbuster, to be back in the reckoning. The playing field is an interesting one because most of the stars who kept the box office busy in 2023 will be absent this year. Shah Rukh Khan , Salman Khan, Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh have no starrers lined up in 2024, so the year ahead will be all about very different box office stories. While on SRK, unconfirmed reports state his next release is Sujoy Ghosh’s upcoming thriller, King. The film, in pre-production stage, co-stars daughter Suhana Khan. Salman Khan’s upcoming film is The Bull, produced by Karan Johar and helmed by Shershaah director Vishnuvardhan. Ranbir Kapoor, after _Animal_ last year, has Nitish Tiwari’s Ramayana. A sequel to Animal titled Animal Park is also coming up. Ranveer Singh stars in Don 3 next. These films, however, are slated for release in 2025. Here is a look at the prominent stars who have plum projects lined up in 2024, in a bid to be back in the Bollywood game of box office supremacy. **AAMIR KHAN**

Coming up: Sitaare Zameen Par Just as everything he does Aamir Khan’s return seems like a meticulously planned affair. This year, the superstar-filmmaker not only starts his comeback process as an actor, he also throws his weight behind three other projects as a producer or as a cameo star. Aamir Khan returns as an actor in Sitaare Zameen Par, a film that also features Genelia Deshmukh and Darsheel Safary, who made waves as a child artist in Taare Zameen Par. “I’m starring in and producing this film Sitaare Zameen Par. We are going 10 steps ahead with the theme of Taare Zameen Par. That film made you cry, this one will make you laugh,” Khan told News18 about his new film, directed by RS Prasanna. Shooting for the project is scheduled to begin this month, a release date is yet to be confirmed. The 58-year-old Khan also participates in three other films this year. He produces Kiran Rao’s Laapata Ladies, slated for an early 2024 release, besides Rajkumar Santoshi’s Lahore 1947 starring Sunny Deol. Then there is Pritam Pyaare, which marks the debut of his son Junaid Khan as producer. Aamir essays a cameo in the film. The year would be crucial for Aamir Khan because his last two starring roles — Laal Singh Chaddha in 2022 and Thugs Of Hindostan in 2018 — met with cold response at the box office. **HRITHIK ROSHAN**

Coming up: Fighter In the Republic Day weekend of 2024, Hrithik Roshan returns with Fighter, co-starring Deepika Padukone and Anil Kapoor. The actor’s other upcoming starrers right now are War 2 and Krrish 4, but these films won’t release before 2025. Director Siddharth Anand, who earlier collaborated with Roshan in Bang Bang! and War, adds Top Gun charisma in Fighter, a fast paced action drama set in the world of IAF aviators. The film is pitched as a big-budget entertainer and would seem an ideal release for Roshan right now. The actor’s release pattern has been sporadic in recent years, with only seven films hitting the theatres over a decade. Of these Krrish 3, Bang Bang!, Kaabil and Super 30 kept investors happy, but Roshan’s last release, Vikram Vedha in 2022, underperformed. Unforeseen delays in the production of the anticipated Krrish 4 haven’t helped the actor’s career graph either. A good box office haul for Fighter would boost prospects for the 49-year-old superstar. **SHAHID KAPOOR**

Coming up: Untitled film opposite Kriti Sanon; Deva The production and release of Shahid Kapoor’s last film, Jersey, was delayed several times owing to Covid, and when the film finally made it to the theatres in April 2022, it bombed. The actor’s next release is an untitled rom-com opposite Kriti Sanon, who has had a rough run at the box office lately. Scheduled to open on February 9, good box office for the film is naturally important for both stars. Set in the future, the film directed by Amit Joshi and Aradhana Sah presents Kapoor as a bumbler who must navigate multiple mishaps to win over the girl of his dreams. Although Kapoor has over half a dozen films in the pipeline, his other release in 2024 is Deva, an action thriller co-featuring Pooja Hegde and Pavail Gulati. Malayalam filmmaker Rosshan Andrrews directs Deva, which is slated for an October 11 release. Andrrews is known for past works such as Udayananu Tharam, Kayamkulam Kochunni, 36 Vayadhinile and Salute. Shahid Kapoor’s last theatrical release before Jersey was Animal maker Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Kabir Singh, a blockbuster released in 2019. The film, thematically reminiscent of the Devdas plot and remade from Vanga’s Telugu superhit Arjun Reddy, faced purist ire for allegedly celebrating misogyny and sexism. In June last year, Kapoor starred in Bloody Daddy, Ali Abbas Zafar’s fast paced and enjoyable remake of the 2011 French thriller, Sleepless Night. The film was well received but, being an OTT release, did not add to the actor’s box office run. While Aamir Khan, Hrithik Roshan and Shahid Kapoor return to the spotlight after a hiatus, there are the likes of Akshay Kumaar, Varun Dhawan and Tiger Shroff who have had a steady flow of releases in recent years but a blockbuster show has eluded them lately. Kumar continues with his strategy of multiple releases. He plays Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in his debut Marathi feature, Mahesh Manjrekar’s Vedat Marathe Veer Daudle Saat, and is also scheduled to appear in around half a dozen films including a Bollywood remake of the Suriya-starrer Soorarai Pottru, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Sky Force, The Untold Story Of C. Sankaran Nair, Welcome To The Jungle and Hera Pheri 3. Kumar also appears in a cameo as DCP Veer Sooryavanshi in Singham Again. For Varun Dhawan, whose last theatrical releases J_ugjugg Jeeyo_ and Bhediya performed below expectation upon release in 2022, the year will see the tentatively titled VD18, a cop action drama co-starring Wamiqa Gabbi and Sanya Malhotra. The actor also has a Karan Johar film lined up with Tiger Shroff, but it isn’t scheduled for a 2024 release. Shroff will be seen in the action comedy Bade Miyan Chote Miyan alongside Akshay Kumar, after the no-show of his last releases Ganapath (2023) and Heropanti 2 (2022). He also enters Rohit Shetty’s cop universe as ACP Satya in Singham Again. Can Bollywood’s comeback heroes of 2024 do a Jawan or a Gadar 2? We will know in about 12 months’ time. Vinayak Chakravorty is a critic, columnist and journalist who loves to write on popular culture.