Hindi
Sony Pictures India unveils 2012 lineup
MUMBAI: Sony Pictures India expects 2012 to be a terrific year as it has unveiled its lineup that has five major franchises coming back.
The lineup includes Men in Black 3 with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in 3D (May), The Amazing Spider-Man in 3D (July), the remake of 1991 blockbuster Total Recall with Colin Farrell (August) and Milla Jovovich in Resident Evil: Retribution in 3D (September).
The next film is the Bond franchise titled Skyfall (November). The lineup will end with Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained that stars Leonardo DiCaprio on 28 December.
Earlier this month, Sony Pictures released Kate Beckinsale’s fourth instalment of the Underworld series – Underworld: Awakening in 3D.
Said Sony Pictures India managing director Kercy Daruwala, “After completing 75 years as a studio in India, and ending last year on a high with the tremendous success of The Adventures of Tintin, I can say without a doubt that the best is yet to come. 2012 has a dream lineup with five major franchises coming back. Together these franchises have made over Rs 2.61 billion at the box office in India. I am confident that these new titles are going to create new records. “
The other films in the lineup include I Hate You Dad, Premium Rush, the claymation comedy The Pirates! Band of Misfits, the 3D animated film Hotel Transylvania and a revival of the cult 80s‘ TV series 21 Jump Street.
“On the whole, we have an ideal mix of several big blockbuster action movies as well as comedy, drama and family films with an arsenal of great directors and top rung stars,” said Daruwala.
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.
