Mumbai, Dec 31 (IANS): It was undoubtedly one of the best years for the Hindi film industry as 2023 saw many blockbusters and superhits across the spectrum of scale, budget and genre.

While global megastar Shah Rukh Khan set the cash registers ringing with ‘Pathaan’ and ‘Jawan’, Sunny Deol too flexed his power at the box-office with ‘Gadar 2’ and currently the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer ; Animal’ is having a dream run at the box-office.

The year 2024 too has many films in the pipeline which are highly awaited. Many of these films are a part of successful franchises across genres which lend them a greater degree of assurance in terms of success as legacy films mostly do well.

Let’s take a look at some of the most awaited films of 2024:

‘Fighter’: The year’s first big release is the Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone and Anil Kapoor-starrer ‘Fighter’. The film has been directed by Siddharth Anand, who is known for his stellar track record with ‘Bang Bang!’, ‘War’ and ‘Pathaan’. The film follows the story of airforce pilots and promises an entertaining story with lots of aerial action. The film is set to debut in theatres on January 25.

‘Soorarai Pottru’: Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar would like to maintain his streak at the box-office after ‘OMG 2’ and what better way to do that with the Hindi remake of one of the most loved Tamil films. ‘Soorarai Pottru’, which originally starred Tamil actor Suriya, is set to release in Hindi on February 16 in theatres. The original Tamil film was inspired by events from the life of G. R. Gopinath, the founder of Indian low-cost airline Simplifly Deccan, as described in his memoir Simply Fly: A Deccan Odyssey.

‘Love Sex Aur Dhokha 2’: Next on the list is filmmaker Dibakar Banerjee’s highly awaited sequel to his 2010 sleeper hit ‘Love Sex Aur Dhokha’. The first part of the film, which was highly experimental in its approach, and was shot entirely with handheld cameras and featured CCTV footage, has gone on to become a cult in cinephile circles. For the second installment, the narrative will focus on the role of social media in current times and how things may take a sinister turn on different social media platforms. The film will release on February 16.

‘Metro... In Dino’: Another film which has piqued the interest of the audience is ‘Metro... In Dino’ which features an ensemble starcast including Aditya Roy Kapur, Sara Ali Khan, Anupam Kher, Neena Gupta, Pankaj Tripathi, Konkona Sen Sharma, Ali Fazal and Fatima Sana Shaikh. The plot of the film is currently under the wraps. The film has been directed by Anurag Basu, who is known for ‘Gangster’, ‘Barfi’, ‘Murder’, ‘Ludo’ and others. ‘Metro... In Dino’ will be released on March 29.

‘Bade Miyan Chote Miyan’: Another film that will satiate the taste buds of the lovers of action genre is the remake of ‘Bade Miyan Chote Miyan’ starring Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff. Malayalam superstar Prithviraj Sukumaran will serve as the antagonist in the film. The film is set to release in theatres on Eid 2024.

‘Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha’: Bollywood superstar Ajay Devgn, who was last seen in ‘Bholaa’, is returning with another entertainer titled ‘Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha’. The film, directed by Neeraj Pandey, also stars Tabu, Saiee M Manjrekar and Shantanu Maheshwari. The film will be Pandey's first directorial in five years after his last 'Aiyaary'. It is touted to be a musical journey spanning over a period of 20 years, and is set between 2002 and 2023. The film will release on April 26.

‘Chandu Champion’: The upcoming film, directed by Kabir Khan of 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' fame, is based on a true story of a sportsperson. 'Chandu Champion' went on floors with its mahurat shot in London. The film is scheduled to release on June 14, 2024.

‘Stree 2’: The fan-favourite 2018 horror-comedy is set to return with its sequel and it promises more fun and jump scares in equal proportion. The film’s second instalment of the film stars Shraddha Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee and Pankaj Tripathi. The film is set to arrive in theatres on August 30.

‘Jigra’: Bollywood star Alia Bhatt, who has had a great run at the movies and is currently enjoying motherhood, will be seen in the Vasan Bala directorial which she has produced. The plot of the film is currently under the wraps. It is set to release on September 27.

‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’: Another Kartik Aaryan film which is also a legacy film. The film will see the Bollywood star reprising his role of Rooh baba, as he looks to repeat the success of the second installment which brought much respite to Hindi cinema while it was struggling at the box-office after the pandemic. The film is directed by Anees Bazmee and is set to release on November 1.