Hindi
Small releases turn big flops
Mumbai: Considering its making and face value, Gali Gali Chor Hai, made at an unseemly budget of Rs 190 million, stands to lose almost all with a poor opening weekend of about Rs 24 million and exhibitors looking to withdraw the film from cinema halls due to poor audience attendance.
Love You To Death got a very poor box office response.
With a seesaw like first week of ups and downs in collections, Agneepath finally managed to finish its first eight days at Rs 880 million with a major chunk of Rs 230 million coming from its 26th January opening day. The second weekend is faring well at select centres with collections of about Rs 130 million.
Players collects a token Rs 500,000 in its fourth week to take its tally to Rs 290.5 million.
Don2, coming at the end of its run, has collected Rs 500,000 in its sixth week to take its total to Rs 1.115 billion.
Dirty Picture mopped up Rs 1 million in its ninth week, taking its total to Rs 838.5 million.
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.
