Hindi
A boring week for box office
MUMBAI: Shaukeens, the remake of 1982 Basu Chatterjee film, Shaukeen, starring old stalwarts Ashok Kumar, Utpal Dutt and AK Hangal is below the mark. The three characters being re-enacted by Anupam Kher, Annu Kapoor and Piyush Mishra are no patch on the veterans they replace. Plus, the script has been mutilated badly in an attempt to better it (old classics can’t be bettered). The film opened low despite a weak opposition. And, the film has managed to collect just Rs 13.5 crore for its opening weekend.
Rang Rasiya, an attempt to sell some nudity in the name of an artistic biopic about a celebrated artist Raja Ravi Varma, has not worked. Biopics about known recent heroes don’t work with our audience and this film working was a long shot. The film fares poorly, missing a first day crore by miles and going onto end the weekend with a poor Rs 2.1 crore.
Super Nani fails at the box office. The subject, despite Rekha enacting the protagonist, is outdated and treated badly. The film has managed to collect a meagre Rs 2.75 crore in its first week.
Roar, a rare film on human vs man eater tigers in a game of survival offered some novelty value which was not enough to save it at the box office. Laden with heavy special effects, which costs dearly, the film has managed just Rs 7.85 crore in its first week.
Happy New Year, despite its negative reports, gets the advantage of poor oppositions and does better than merited in its second week. Even while on decline after its opening day, the film manages to collect Rs 32.4 crore in its second week taking its two week total to Rs 162.4 crore.
Haidar has added Rs 10 lakh in its fifth week to take its five week total to Rs 40.5 crore.
Bang Bang has collected Rs 15 lakh in its fifth week to take its five week total to Rs 145.75 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.
