Aditya Dhar and Karan Johar to Sandeep Reddy Vanga and SS Rajamouli: Here's what top Indian filmmakers are planning next after the 2025 blockbuster.

Aditya Dhar is enjoying a historic run with ‘Dhurandhar,’ which continues to dominate the box office even after 30 days. The film has crossed Rs.1,200 crore worldwide, overtaking ‘Jawan’ and ‘Pathaan,’ and has become the first Hindi film to earn over Rs.800 crore domestically, despite mixed critical reception. Starring Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna, R. Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, and Sanjay Dutt, the film’s popularity has paved the way for a sequel. The next installment, again led by Ranveer as an Indian spy, is scheduled for release on March 19, 2026.

Karan Johar currently has multiple ventures in motion under Dharma Productions. He is backing Vivek Soni’s romantic drama ‘Chand Mera Dil,’ starring Lakshya and Ananya Panday, now scheduled for a 2026 release after being postponed from 2025. Another major 2026 release is ‘Naagzilla,’ a supernatural fantasy comedy directed by Mrighdeep Singh Lamba, with Kartik Aaryan playing a shape-shifting serpent. Beyond Hindi cinema, Dharma has also stepped into Malayalam film distribution. The banner has acquired northern India theatrical rights for ‘Chatha Pacha: The Ring of Rowdies,’ directed by Adhvaith Nayar. Featuring Arjun Ashokan, Roshan Mathew, Vishak Nair, and Ishan Shoukath, with a Mammootty cameo, the film marks Dharma’s first association with Malayalam cinema and releases on January 22.

After the massive success of ‘Pathaan,’ Siddharth Anand is collaborating once again with Shah Rukh Khan on the action film ‘King.’ The film also stars Suhana Khan, Deepika Padukone, Jaideep Ahlawat, Abhishek Bachchan, and Raghav Juyal in prominent roles, adding to the buzz surrounding the project. ‘King’ marks Shah Rukh Khan and Suhana Khan’s first on-screen collaboration and Suhana’s theatrical debut. Currently under production, the film is expected to arrive in cinemas in 2026 and is being positioned as another stylized action spectacle.

Atlee is currently developing another large-scale entertainer titled ‘AA22xA6,’ featuring Allu Arjun and Deepika Padukone in lead roles. Announced on Allu Arjun’s birthday in April 2025, the sci-fi spectacle promises an international visual language with Indian emotional grounding. Speaking at WAVES Summit 2025, Allu Arjun said, “We hope to bring a very new visual spectacle to Indian cinema.” The filmmaker has described ‘AA22xA6’ as “addictive to watch” and confirmed collaborations with several Hollywood technicians, many of whom reportedly found the scale challenging. Produced by Sun Pictures, the film is currently under production and is expected to arrive in theaters sometime in 2027.

The eagerly anticipated release of Nitesh Tiwari’s upcoming two-part adaptation of 'The Ramayana,' starring Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Ravi Dubey as Lakshman, Sunny Deol as Hanuman, and Yash as Ravana, with the release of Part 1 scheduled for Diwali 2026 and Part 2 for Diwali 2027, represents an exciting and ambitious venture into mythological filmmaking on a global scale with the latest VFX technology available today.

Priyadarshan has wrapped up the horror-comedy ‘Bhooth Bangla,’ starring Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, and Wamiqa Gabbi, with an April 2026 release planned. He has also completed ‘Haiwaan,’ featuring Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, and Saiyami Kher, reuniting Akshay and Saif after nearly 17 years. Fans are also eagerly awaiting updates on ‘Hera Pheri 3,’ which brings back Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, and Suniel Shetty. After Paresh briefly exited the project in 2025 and later rejoined, audiences are now waiting for an official announcement on the much-loved franchise’s next chapter.

After the international success of 'RRR,' acclaimed filmmaker SS Rajamouli is currently working on another massive project called 'Varanasi.' The lead roles for this film are Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra, and Prithviraj Sukumaran, with this film marking the return of Priyanka Chopra to Indian films after an extended period. 'Varanasi' is an ambitious project and was created with an estimated production budget of Rs.1000 crores; when completed, it will become the first Indian film to use the 1.43:1 IMAX format for filming. While the storyline has yet to be disclosed, Rajamouli has confirmed that Mahesh Babu plays Lord Rama in one of the many story arcs in the film. The filmmakers anticipate the film will have a release date during the Sankranti festival in 2027.

Sandeep Reddy Vanga is currently filming ‘Spirit,’ headlined by Prabhas and Triptii Dimri. Prabhas is believed to play a cop, with Triptii as his romantic interest. The cast also includes Vivek Oberoi, Prakash Raj, and Kanchana in pivotal roles. The film’s intense first-look poster sparked widespread discussion online. Designed as a pan-world release, ‘Spirit’ will hit screens in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Mandarin, Japanese, and Korean. Scheduled for a 2026 release, the film will be followed by ‘Animal Park,’ the sequel to Vanga’s 2024 blockbuster ‘Animal,’ with Ranbir Kapoor reprising his role after ‘Spirit’ wraps.

Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali has brought together Alia Bhatt, Vicky Kaushal, and Ranbir Kapoor for his upcoming feature titled 'Love & War.' This movie will be the second collaboration between Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor following their first collaboration on the film 'Brahmastra' and the second collaboration between them and Bhansali after 'Saawariya' and 'Gangubai Kathiawadi,' respectively. The film will reportedly follow the story of a complicated romantic entanglement within a love triangle between two officers and a woman. Initially scheduled for theatrical release in 2025, due to production delays it is now slated to be released in June of this year but is still awaiting confirmation by producers on its final release date.