As we all saw that comedy remained the dominating theme of the films released last year, but this year’s lineup of release films shows that action and romance are likely to replace the last year’s theme. Apart from the filmmakers, the film distributors, who are the big stakeholders, are looking forward to their coming films for 2008 hoping they will hit the blockbusters.

Business-wise, last year brought cheer to the Bollywood industry particularly to the people like Vinay Choksey of V.I.P. Exhibitors, who gave hit releases like ‘Dhamaal’ and ‘Namastey London’. This year may be it’s party time for the people who are ready with their films of different genres – action and romance. But nobody can say for sure whether comedy films did well one year, action and romantic films would take over next. As the viewers are open to all genres of films, what is going to appeal them is not easy to say in advance. Let’s have a look on the films to be released this year.

This year's first major release is ‘Halla Bol’. The film is based on politics and is full of thriller and action. Both director Rajkumar Santoshi and the lead actor Ajay Devgan are known for their action films.

Another big venture is the newcomer Nikhil Dwivedi starrer ‘My Name is Anthony Gonsalves’. The girl of the last year’s hit ‘Vivaah’, Amrita Rao, is the female lead of the film.

Akshay Kumar, who was the comedy hero of last year, can be seen in his old action garb in Percept Picture Company's ‘8X10’. The film is directed by Nagesh Kukunoor and is a big suspense thriller. Percept Picture Company’s other movie with Kukunoor is ready for release this year is the John Abraham starrer ‘Aashayein’. It’s also an action film in which John plays the role of a gambler.

The most extravagant historical movie of 2008 is UTV Motion Pictures’ ‘Jodha Akbar’. This Rs.400 million movie is directed and co-produced by Ashutosh Gowarikar and is based on the romance between Emperor Akbar and Rajput princess Jodhabai. Hrithik Roshan is playing the role of Akbar while Aishwariya Rai is playing the character of Jodha.

Whether this period drama will be accepted by today’s audience or not, whether they will accept Hrithik as the great Mughal emperor or not, but one thing is certain that ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ is going to be a sheer spectacle to watch.

UTV Motion Pictures’ ‘Dilli 6’ is another film to be released after ‘Jodhaa Akbar’. The film is directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Abhishek Bachchan can be seen pairing opposite Sonam Kapoor for the first time.

Sanjay Gupta's long-awaited big ‘Alibaug’ is finally ready to release this year. Sanjay Dutt, playing the role of a professor, is a male lead, while Dia Mirza is a female lead in the film.

Sujoy Ghosh’s fantasy film ‘Alladin’is featuring Amitabh Bachchan in the leading role. Sanjay Dutt and Ritesh Deshmukh can also be seen in this modern version of the Arabian Night’s tale.

Amitabh and Shah Rukh Khan will be seen together once again on the silver screen in Ravi Chopra's ‘Bhootnath’. Chopra's another film, ‘Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai’, is also scheduled for release this year.

Warner Bros’ attempt to consolidate its presence in India can be seen in an action-adventure ‘Chandni Chowk to China’. The film is co-produced by Ramesh Sippy and directed by Nikhil Advani. Akshay Kumar along with Deepika Padukone will be seen returning back to his forte, martial arts and breathtaking action. Aamir Khan is looking forward to this year with his film ‘Ghajni’. Produced by Allu Arvind and directed by A.R. Murugadoss, this is a thriller film.

Other major movies lined up for release in 2008 include Rakesh Roshan's ‘Krazzy 4’, director Satish Kaushik's ‘Karzzzz’, Rumi Jaffrey's ‘God Tussi Great Ho’, Madhur Bhandarkar's ‘Fashion’, Harry Baweja's ‘Love Story 2050’, Abbas-Mastan's ‘Race’, Yash Raj Films' animation movie ‘Roadside Romeo’, and ‘Tashan’, Anil Kapoor's ‘Shortcut’, and Subhash Ghai's ‘Yuvraaj’.

On an average, Rs.200 million has gone into producing each of the above mentioned films. Before the release though the distributors can say how much revenue each venture is worth, they can’t say how much revenue a film may generate at the box-office. All we need to do is wait and watch the fate of these distributors in the year 2008.