From Black Panther To X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Here Are some of the Most Anticipated Superhero and Fantasy Movies Of 2018

2017 turned out to be a whopper of a movie year with India seeing the best of Hollywood releases and spectacular superhero and fantasy flicks. 2018 promises to be even bigger with Black Panther, Avengers InfinityWar, X Men and lots more! Heres a quick recapof the top superhero and fantasy films to look forward to

Black Panther (February 16)

Black Panther is the first of 2018 superhero spectacles and also the first to feature a predominately black cast. Buzz is thatBlack Panther is going to be nothing short of stellar. Fans have been waiting since forever for the rise of a black superhero and get his own movie. The anticipation and excitement for T’Challa’s first solo flick is super high. And looking at the trailer, the expectations are sure to be met.

Early Man (February 16)

Early Man is an upcoming stop motion animated adventure which is about an early cavemen and their battle to save their way of life from an evil lord who is voiced by Tom Hiddleston and the inhabitants of nearby Bronze Age City.

A Wrinkle in Time (March 9)

A Wrinkle in Time is directed by Ava DuVernay and written by Jennifer Lee.It is based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Madeleine L'Engle. The film stars Storm Reid, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Levi Miller, Deric McCabe, Chris Pine, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Michael Peña, André Holland, Zach Galifianakis, and Oprah Winfrey.

Tomb Raider (March 16)

Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander kicking serious ass makes this film something to watch out for.

Pacific Rim Uprising (March 23)

Even though the sequel of Pacific Rim doesn’t have Del Toro, Charlie Hunnam an Idris Elba but we can’t wait to watch what Rinko Kikuchi, John Boyega, Scott Eastwood and Cailee Spaeny have in store for us.

The New Mutants (April 13)

A superhero horror movie where a group of mutants discover their powers while being held against their will in a concealed facility? The film is directed by Josh Boone and stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Maisie Williams, Charlie Heaton, Henry Zaga, Blu Hunt, and Alice Braga.

Avengers: Infinity War (27th April)

This is mostly the biggest movie of the year. Every hero. The biggest Big Villain that ever existed.And presumably more action and drama and laughs than most of the other Marvel films to date. Avengers: Infinity War is the movie all the other movies have been leading up to and for that reason alone it promises to be spectacular. The fact that it's being made by Anthony and Joe Russo, who made the last two Captain America movies so great, is just a bonus. The summer won't know what hit it.

Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25)

After the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the excitement of the standalone fmovie has reached its peak. It's a prequel about the early days of Han Solo, so we—and presumably everyone else—will be lining up to see it.

Untitled Deadpool Sequel (June 1)

The first part was a surprise hit at the box office. Its sequel promises to have presumably more cursing, blood, and guns. It also has Josh Brolin as Cable. And Atlanta's Zazie Beetz as Domino.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (June 22) 

Expect more dinosaurs, more Chris Pratt, and Bryce Dallas Howard. 

Ant-Man and the Wasp (July 6) 

This movie is based on the Marvel Comics characters Scoot Lang (ant-man) and Hope Van Dyne (Wasp). Get ready for more slapstick, Paul Rudd (Ant-Man) charm, and Evangaline Lilly kicking airborne ass while rocking an A+ bob. Oh, and Michelle Pfeiffer as well. 

Mowgli  (October 19) 

The Jungle Book now named as Mowgli is a live action adventure fantasy film. The film stars Rohan Chand, Matthew Rhys and Freida Pinto, with motion capture performances from Serkis, Christian Bale, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hollander and Cate Blanchett and Andy Serkis who is also playing Baloo in the film. 

  X-Men: Dark Phoenix (November 2) 

The X-Men movies may have had a great run, but after the epochal Logan they could easily have been sunsetted as a cinematic franchise. It is the intended to be the thirteenth installment in the X-men film Series. In X-Men: Dark Phoenix, the X-Men must face the full power of the Dark Phoenix as well as the alien Shi'ar Empire.

Sonu Sood arranges for a cricket pitch

Always the fronting humanitarian causes, Sonu Sood took the initiative to create a cricket pitch for kids in his vicinity. A cricket fanatic himself, the talented actor arranged for the pitch in a month’s span, which he will take to in his free time to play with the kids. Living in a city where huge playgrounds are hard to come by, kids find it disheartening to not have a place to play. To remedy this, Sonu decided to get started on making a cricket pitch in the backyard of his society complex. A source says, “Only recently Sonu gifted the kids in his society cricket gear and kit. After playing cricket with them, he realised that they didn’t have proper levelled grounds in the premises. He immediately planned to make a pitch. He encourages kids to play more outdoor games to keep themselves fit rather than playing video games indoors.”

Anupam Kher to star in NBC’s Bellevue

Riding high with the distinction of having earned his second nomination at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, after the Oscar-winning, Silver Linings Playbook, Anupam Kher has been cast in NBC’s medical drama titled, Bellevue.  

Recognised as one of the most celebrated Indian actors in Hollywood, Kher has collaborated with some of the biggest names known worldwide for their acting prowess and is now all set to reunite with Freema Agyeman, after working with her in Netflix’s Sense8. Produced by Dr. Eric Manheimer, author of the memoir Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital which inspired NBC’s next, the character-driven medical drama is about a director at the Bellevue hospital, who shakes the status quo of the hospital with his approach. Kher, who has a repertoire of overseas films and series to his credit will be seen essaying the role of Dr. Anil Kapoor, one of the oldest doctors at the hospital in the upcoming series Anupam says, "I’m excited to be part of this project. Bellevue is anticipated as the next big thing in International Television. As an actor it helps me widen my horizons and also gives me a opportunity to be a part of world class talent. Looking forward to the shoot."

RAID's new love song of ‘Sanu Ek Pal' recreates Nusrat Fateh Ali khan's timeless Melody

This Valentine's fall in love again with the latest romantic number 'Sanu Ek Pal' from 'RAID’. Originally sung by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the song is recreated by composer Tanishk Bagchi, penned by Manoj Muntashir and sung by none other than Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.Interestingly, the song was earlier selected for Tseries’ other home production, however, when Ajay Devgn heard the recreated song, he insisted that it should be a part of Raid. Bhushan Kumar, hence decided to include this timeless melody in 'Raid'.The song beautifully captures the emotions of Ajay Devgn and Ileana D'cruz's characters. Their chemistry is remarkable throughout the song. The song will be out today. The golden trio of Nusrat Fateh Ali khan, Ajay Devgn and Ileana D'cruz which gave us the hit song 'Mere Rashke Qamar' last year is yet again here to make the audiences swoon over their music.

Gulshan Kumar & Tseries present, A Panorama Studios Production, Produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Kumar Mangat Pathak and Abhishek Pathak, Raid is directed by Raj Kumar Gupta. The film releases on 16th March 2018.

Indian TV thrives on love and romance: Meri Durga producer Ravindra Gautam

Producer Ravindra Gautam is not really a fan of Valentine’s Day, however, he understands the power the festival holds over his audience. The Meri Durga producer says that he will be using the festival to spike the viewers interest on his show. “I don't celebrate it personally but yes, I will surely celebrate it in 'Meri Durga'. I believe it's a marketing gimmick so will use to market my show,” he says. 

He adds that he has never really believed in celebrating Valentine’s Day. “I feel it's too hyped and overrated. As I said it a marketing gimmick by international business giants which the youth has fallen into, especially metro teens. Small town youth are still not that crazy about the festival. Back in 80's and 90's I never saw such hype in my hometown Lucknow. It was only when I came to Mumbai that I saw such extravagance on Valentine's Day. And over the years, it has increased leaps and bounds,” he says. 

The producer adds that the way love and romance are portrayed on screen needs to change. “Indian TV thrives on love and romance, but we need to explore more ways of portraying it, rather than the traditional romance of boy meets girl. Love and romance is a very vast arena to play in, with so many pockets and we need to explore that. We need to get into the more realistic images of romance, married romance, romance in old age, like that beautiful film The Notebook,” he says. 

However, Ravindra says that we must refrain from making the content very bold. “Sometimes we go a little bold and TRP's have always dipped whenever such scenes are depicted. TV in India is still watched by families, so they switch channels during such scenes. I think we should shy away from going bold, especially on GECs,” he says. 

Ask him which has been his best on-screen Jodi, and he says, “The best romantic jodis, I feel, was Ram Kapoor and Sakshi Tanwar in Bade Achhe Lagte Hain, Vivian Dsena and Drashti Dhami in Madhubala and Ankita Lokhande and Sushant Singh Rajput in Pavitra Rishta. Somehow all these actors portrayed the characters so brilliantly and their chemistry sizzled on screen.”