It was a year which not only exposed the reigning superstars of commercial cinema but also left the much-hyped poster boys of the content-rich cinema scampering for cover. Several eagerly-awaited extravaganzas, touted as sure-shot blockbusters in the run-up to their overhyped release, sank without a trace, throwing the Hindi film industry into a vortex of uncertainties.

In short, nothing seemed to work. To add insult to the injury, the ever-innovative south Indian film industry made hay at the cost of Bollywood by churning out a surfeit of dubbed masala entertainers to entice the whole of north India, once considered to be an exclusive domain of the Pashas of Pali Hill.

Little wonder, the Hindi cinema’s honchos – the Chopras, the Johars and others of their ilk -- would like to forget the year that has just slunk into the pages of history, and pray for a rapid reversal of their fortunes in 2023.

Thankfully, with a number of exciting projects lined up for release over the next 12 months, the industry should hope that its worst phase is already over with the advent of a new calendar year.

Curiously, much of its optimism still hinges on the charisma of its old war horses despite all the talk about the diminishing halo of the much-vaunted star system in the past few years. Shah Rukh Khan, for one, will have not one but three major releases this year.

SRK has not had any major release since his Zero (2018) flopped. The 57-year-old star is set to return to the theatres on January 25 with Pathaan opposite Deepika Padukone – a film that is already in the news for reasons other than his comeback.

Shah Rukh will also have another release, Jawan in the middle and Dunki towards the end of the year. The fate of these three movies will more or less determine whether one of the most loved stars of India still has in him what it takes to ensure record-breaking footfalls in the theatres, both in India and abroad.

Though SRK’s contemporary, Aamir Khan has taken a voluntary break after the failure of Laal Singh Chaddha, an ambitious remake of Hollywood classic, Forrest Gump (1994), the third of the Khan triptych, Salman is ready to flex his muscle on screen with two mega projects – Kisi Ka Bhai … Kisi Ki Jaan and Tiger 3 – this year. Like SRK, Salman’s last few movies such as Radhe have not lived up to the expectations of his admirers.

The two other contemporaries of the formidable Khans – Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn – also have several big movies in the pipeline this year. Undeterred by the failure of his movies, from Prithviraj to Ram Setu, last year, Akshay Kumar has about six movies under various stages of production that will test his mettle this year.?

Likewise, Devgn also has big movies such as Bhola and Maidaan waiting to hit the screen. Last year, he delivered a genuine hit like Drishyam 2, which brought some relief to the industry. ?

The year 2023 also holds immense promise for a talented star like Ranbir Kapoor who has had mixed fortunes all through his career. Each of his successes has either been preceded or followed by commercial duds in his career. He will hope to break this jinx with Tu Jhooti Main Makkar and Animal this year. ??

There are other commercial cinema stars such as Hrithik Roshan, Ranveer Singh, Shahid Kapoor, Kartik Aaryan who are expected to carry forward the baton of the Khan triumvirate this year. The mascots of meaningful cinema Ayushmaan Khurrana and Vicky Kaushal will also have good opportunities to reestablish their credentials with movies such as Dream Girl 2 and Sam Bahadur.

But then, as Bollywood’s fate in 2022 has underlined the fact, none of the big stars can get away with bad movies anymore. Hope the film industry has learnt this lesson that the audiences sought to convey to it in an unambiguous manner last year.