Hindi
Sequels’ collections fall flat
MUMBAI: The week saw two releases, both sequels. Force 2, a sequel to Force (2011) with John Abraham, a narcotics department cop going on an international assignment, where it was almost as if the action director was in charge. Tum Bin 2, a sequel to Tum Bin (2001) which saw a fair success, thanks to its musical score, was more like a remake of the same film rather than a sequel, albeit with inferior music.
Both took the audience for granted and paid heavily.
*Indian films have followed a certain formula when one said the film has ‘something for everybody’ like romance, music, comedy and drama. Action was incidental. In a frenzy to copy fast paced Hollywood films, where much of the enhancement coming from special effects, as in little to do with on the sets filming and more to do with on the table filmmaking, the films emerge one dimensional. Force 2 is an extreme example. It sheds all that is formula and vends only action. Actions sans emotional backing falls flat and that is what seems to have happened to Force 2.
The film had an average opening of about Rs 5.5 crore with no appreciation as the film has nothing to appreciate, it ended its opening weekend with Rs 18.75 crore.
*Tum Bin 2, coming as it does after 15 years since its first version, palms off the same story it did earlier. Right, the generation has changed but so have tastes. Also, at 2 hours 21 minute of running time and new faces to carry it through, was asking for too much. While the earlier version had a music to relish, this one lacks in this department.
The film opened to very poor response as the first day figures at the box office being in lakhs, it failed to show much improvement over the weekend to end its first weekend with Rs 2.4 crore.
*Rock On 2, a sequel to Rock On (2008) was a muddled film idea. Forgetting to keep up with its title and pack some music to hum, it peddled a convoluted story with multiple threads failing to tie it together in the end. Meeting with poor opening and negative word of mouth, it ended its first week with a disastrous Rs 8.45 crore.
*Chaar Sahibzaade (3-D: Animation) rates in total loss category.
*Dongri Ka Raja spelt disaster with about Rs 30 lakh for its opening week.
*Ae Dil Hai Mushkil added about Rs 4.1 crore in its third week taking its three week total to Rs 100.7 crore.
*Shivaay has added Rs 2.6 crore in its third week to take its three week tally to Rs 84.1 crore.
Hindi
Jio Studios, Sanjay Dutt team up to revive Khal Nayak
Rights acquired for new version, format under wraps as remake plans take shape.
MUMBAI: The villain is back and this time, he’s rewriting his own script. Jio Studios has partnered with Three Dimension Motion Pictures and Aspect Entertainment to revive the 1993 cult classic Khal Nayak, marking a fresh chapter for one of Bollywood’s most iconic anti-hero stories. The original film, directed by Subhash Ghai under Mukta Arts, was a commercial and cultural milestone, with Sanjay Dutt’s portrayal of Ballu becoming one of Hindi cinema’s most memorable performances.
Dutt, along with Aksha Kamboj, has now acquired the rights from the original creators, bringing on board Jio Studios and its President Jyoti Deshpande to steer the project creatively.
While the exact format whether remake, sequel, prequel, or a completely new narrative remains undisclosed, the collaboration aims to reinterpret the story for contemporary audiences while retaining the essence that made the original a defining film of the 1990s.
The move taps into a broader industry trend of reviving legacy intellectual property, particularly characters with strong recall value. “Khal Nayak” was notable for pushing mainstream Hindi cinema into morally grey territory at a time when heroes were largely one-dimensional, making Ballu’s character a standout.
The project also marks the film production debut of Aspect Entertainment, signalling a push towards more technology-led storytelling frameworks. Meanwhile, Jio Studios continues to expand its slate, having built a library of over 200 films and series, with more than 60 titles collectively winning 500-plus awards.
For Dutt, the revival is as much personal as it is strategic, a return to a role that reshaped his career. For the industry, it is another sign that nostalgia, when paired with scale, remains a powerful box-office proposition.
Because in Bollywood, some villains never fade, they just wait for the perfect comeback.
