Hindi
Kukunoor partners Remac Filmz for a Hindi film
MUMBAI: Nagesh Kukunoor has joined hands with Bengal‘s Remac Filmz to direct a yet untitled Hindi film.
“The company is targeting an initial investment of Rs 500 million in the current fiscal year for its film business,” said Remac Filmz chairman PP Tiwari.
“Nagesh has proven himself as a visionary filmmaker who can bring extraordinary imagination and creativity through the medium of films and we are really proud about his involvement with our first (Hindi) project. I am certain of his commitment to make yet another path breaking cinema for the national and international audience,” Tiwari added.
Kukunoor made his directorial debut in the year of 1998 with ‘Hyderabad Blues‘ which was based on his own script.
In year 2003, ‘3 Deewarein‘ (Three Walls), written and directed by Kukunoor, was premiered at the Kolkata Film Festival and was also shown in the Indian panorama section at the 2003 International Film Festival of India. ‘Iqbal‘, in 2005, brought Kukunoor a National Award.
Remac Filmz, a part of the Remac India group headquartered in West Bengal, is into the hospitality, realty and healthcare sectors and ventured into the business of entertainment with their its Bengali film titled Macho Mustafa. It is also looking at other vernacular languages across the country.
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.
