Hindi
DAM 999 gets two Oscar listings
MUMBAI: Despite getting a lackluster treatment from Indian audiences, director Sohan Roy‘s debut venture DAM 999, is looking to make it big at the Oscars. The film has been shortlisted among the 265 films that made to the ballot list for the 2012 Academy Awards.
Incidentally, the film has made it to the Oscar shortlist as a Hollywood film.
As if that was not enough, three songs of the film have found a place among the final 39 selected for the Academy‘s Original Songs category.
The songs selected from DAM 999 are its theme song, Dakkanaga Dugu Dugu and Mujhe Chodke. While the lyrics have been penned by Roy himself, the music has been composed by Ousephachan.
Commenting on the development Roy exclaimed, “This is a crowning achievement for DAM 999. I am happy that my dream project has attained the true recognition it deserves.”
Malayalam film Adaminte Makan Abu is India‘s official entry.
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.
