The success of films like “Madras Cafe” and “D-Day” seems to have encouraged Bollywood’s intrigue with sleuths as the industry has lined up for release a number of spy movies that range from espionage adventures to action comedies. Many top actors and directors are teaming up for several gritty, realistic or comedic spy films in a genre that has been a favorite for Bollywood filmmakers. After the success of “Barfi!,” Ranbir Kapoor and director Anurag Basu are coming together again — this time for sleuth film “Jagga Jasoos.”  According to the makers, this film would be along the lines of “Sherlock Homes” meets “Austin Powers,” a typical Bollywood entertainer with the right doses of action, comedy and music to cater to popular taste.

 

 

Kapoor and Basu would jointly produce the film under a new banner called Picture Shuru Productions. The film would also star Katrina Kaif and Govinda and is slated to begin shooting in November. “We are making franchise films. We are trying to make a big film…It is going to be an entertaining film,” Kapoor said. Known to pull off heroine-centric movies with élan, Vidya Balan has been roped in for Dia Mirza’s production venture “Bobby Jasoos.” The actress, who is being hailed as “India’s first lady detective,” said she is happy to do something a la James Bond in the film. “I am thrilled to be the lady (version of) James Bond. The film will mark the arrival of India’s first lady detective and I am quite happy to be a part of it,” Balan said. Shooting will start early next year and the film is set for a 2014 release. Meanwhile, actor Rajeev Khandelwal will play a detective in the upcoming suspense drama “Samrat and Co.,” being produced by Kavita Barjatya of Rajshri Productions and directed by Kaushik Ghatak. Khandelwal has begun shooting for the film, which will hit theaters mid-2014. In “Mr. Joe B. Carvalho,” actor Arshad Warsi will be seen playing the character of a spy, inspired by Hollywood star Steve Martin’s role of a bumbling French police detective in “The Pink Panther.”

 

 Director Dibakar Banerjee has announced “Detective Byomkesh Bakshi” with Sushant Singh Rajput, who will play author Saradindu Bandopadhyay’s popular fictional detective. The Kolkata-set movie, which will be produced by Yash Raj Films, goes on floors in December and Banerjee has hinted that he would like to make a franchise out of it. The spy genre has been tapped long ago in the Hindi film industry, and almost every top Bollywood actor has donned the sleuth look. Dev Anand appeared in two spy films in 1970. While “Prem Pujari” failed at the box office, Vijay Anand’s “Johny Mera Naam” went on to gain classic status. In Shakti Samanta’s “The Great Gambler,” megastar Amitabh Bachchan played an undercover cop. Dharmendra has also dabbled in this genre with films like “Aankhen” and “Yakeen.” Jeetendra’s dance-packed spy drama “Farz” earned the actor a major breakthrough in his career. Shot in exotic international locales and featuring government agents engaged in espionage, 2012 saw the release of two spy films — Salman Khan’s “Ek Tha Tiger” and Saif Ali Khan-starrer “Agent Vinod.”