Hindi
Indian films make a mark in overseas festivals
MUMBAI: These days Indian films are not only being raved about in the country but are also being lauded overseas.
The Gujarati film Harun-Arun, directed by Vinod Ganatra for the Children‘s Film Society, has won the Liv Ullmann Peace Prize at the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival held last month.
The Liv Ullmann Peace Prize is given to a film that positively addresses difficult topics related to children, such as racism, prejudice and abuse, conservation of the planet, alternative dispute resolution (of individuals, organisations and or countries) or the exploration of any topic which brings children closer with an understanding of the global culture in which they function.
A crossover film, Harun-Arun is the story of a young boy in Pakistan who after being told that his family is in India, manages to cross the border. He is sheltered by three young Indian children without the knowledge of their elders till he can find his parent’s village.
The film will also be screened at the Dhaka International Film Festival that will be held from 14 to 22 January next year. It will be screened in both the Adult and Children sections of the festival.
Meanwhile, the Tamil film Mudhal Mudhal Mudhal Varai by Krishnan Seshadri Gomatam won the Silver Award in the digital section of the Cairo International Film Festival. The film was also a part of Indian Panorama IFFI 2008.
India was the ‘Guest of Honour’ in the Festival and famed filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan was the Chairman of the International Jury. Apart from screening of films curated by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) also participated in the Films market at the Festival.
Another Indian entry New York earned the honour of being the opening film at the Festival. The Festival also presented a retrospective of seven films by Madhur Bhandarkar including Corporate, Fashion and Chandni Bar.
Among other films sent by DFF, ‘Summer of 2007’ in the Human Rights Category and Gafle (Scam) in the general category, drew a huge response from viewers.
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.
