Hindi
Aamir, SRK in close fight over box-office
MUMBAI: 2010 is surfacing as Aamir Khan‘s 3 Idiots vs Shah Rukh Khan‘s My Name Is Khan, the two movies that are painting an opposite story at the box-office from most of the flops that hit the Bollywood world in 2009.
Amid Shiv Sena protests and a limited release, the SRK-starrer has gathered Rs 900 million in its worldwide opening weekend. 3 Idiots, in contrast, grossed Rs 1 billion in its first four-day run across the world.
The movie has done exceptionally well in the US even as SRK and Kajol rang the bell at Nasdaq ahead of the release, a marketing gesture aimed at tapping audiences from the Indian diaspora.
“The film garnered Rs 430 million from the domestic circuit while it grossed Rs 470 million from the overseas market. We have had fascinating Sunday numbers that is highest for any Bollywood film released in recent years while the film‘s overseas collections have been two times higher than that of any other recent release including 3 Idiots,” says Fox Star Studios CEO Vijay Singh.
The movie is marketed and distributed in India by Fox Star Studios in India, in the US by its sister company Fox Searchlight and in the rest of the world by parent group 20th Century Fox International.
The film features Shah Rukh as Rizvan Khan who embarks on a journey across America to win back the love of his life, played by Kajol. It shows how, along the way, his personality touches the lives of many and inspires a nation.
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.
