By Radhika Bhirani
New Delhi, July 31 (IANS): After "Kick", are you ready for some more jumping, boxing, punching and chasing? Bollywood lovers, brace yourself for a slew of action-packed high-on stunts movies slated for release in the remaining 2014 calendar.
Salman Khan's "Kick" has already set a high standard by zooming into the Rs.100 crore club within its first week itself and now, the stage is set for entertainers like "Singham Returns", "Mardaani", "Mary Kom", "Desi Kattey", "Bang Bang", "Haider", "Happy New Year", "Tevar" and "Tamanchey".
If the success of the 2011 movie "Singham" is anything to go by, Ajay Devgn as Bajirao Singham will roar again upon his return in Rohit Shetty's "Singham Returns", releasing on Independence Day.
The Ajay-Shetty duo has dished out "some unique and different stunts", says a source close to the production team - and that's a fact well-endorsed by the movie's trailer.
Once Hindi movie aficionados have had a dose enough of the men in action, gear up for Rani Mukerji's dare-me-if-you-can look and avatar in "Mardaani", produced by Yash Raj Films (YRF). The film isn't about stunts, but they are integral to the plot and what's worth looking out for is the fact that Rani has been trained professionally to carry out the stunts.
"'Mardaani' is not a stunt-based film and is a must-watch movie only for 'action-buffs'. The action scenes are very real and integral to the story without people flying around after being punched," Rafiq Gangjee, vice president (Marketing and Communications), YRF, told IANS.
"Rani has been trained by professionals of Krav Maga, an Israeli martial art form, and her actions are true to life. Her role is that of a senior Police Inspector of the Crime Branch who goes after the child trafficking mafia and she has played that role to perfection without going into unrealistic fight sequences and 'daredevilry'," Gangjee said.
Talk about Bollywood ladies in action mode, and you wouldn't like to miss the punches that Priyanka Chopra seems to have packed up in "Mary Kom".
As the Olympic bronze medallist boxer onscreen, the National Award winning performer has "undergone extreme physical endurance to prepare for the character and delivered a knock-out performance that has set a new bar for the women protagonists in Bollywood," says Ajit Andhare, COO, Viacom18 Motion Pictures.
"Action sequences have been an integral part of cinema, but today these sequences are real, they are gritty and the stars train resiliently to be able to deliver the same," Andhare told IANS.
True that - be it Rani and Priyanka or Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan - actors go through months of training to pull off tough action sequences despite the prevalence and use of advanced technology, which is believed to have eased out the process of making stars fly in the air, jump down high-rises and perform other dazzling and dangerous stunts.
One will also agree that the old world charm of 'dhishoom dhishoom' action does not seem to bore the audiences either - and that's why "Desi Kattey", with its raw and gritty stunts, seems like it will hit the right chords with the audience.
In contrast, there's Bollywood's own 'superhero' Hrithik Roshan in "Bang Bang"! The Greek god of Indian cinema is ready to surpass the standards of action he himself set with "Dhoom 2" and the "Krrish" series. He zooms out of the sea, swings like Tarzan and his bike stunts are to be watched.
There's also the Shahid Kapoor-starrer "Haider", an adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" by Vishal Bhardwaj. A sneak peak into the forthcoming movie via its trailer, tells it's high on guns, explosions and violence.
And how can the year be complete without a dose of Shah Rukh Khan? So, there's "Happy New Year", which has a multi-starrer punch with Abhishek Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Boman Irani, Vivaan Shah and Sonu Sood.
Ready for all the action, are you?