Hindi
Karnataka govt moots film city named after Rajkumar, Vishnuvardhan
BANGALORE: The Karnataka tourism minister G Janardhana Reddy yesterday announced his government‘s plans to build a film city similar to the Ramoji Rao Film City at Hyderabad.
The minister said that the possibility of setting up a one-of its- kind film city in the country would be explored on a public-private-partnership basis.
The proposed film city would be named after late Kannada film thespians Rajkumar and Vishnuvardhan.
If the proposal was accepted by the Karnataka chief minister and other cabinet members, the film city would be set up at Hesaraghatta where a land has already been earmarked for a film city.
As an acknowledgement of Vishnuvardhan‘s contributions and service to the Kannada film industry, the state government also decided to name its annual lifetime achievement award after him.
“The award would henceforth be called Dr. Vishnuvardhan Lifetime Achievement Award,” said CM B S Yeddyurappa while conceding to the suggestion of the members of the Sandalwood industry.
The state government has also decided to set up a Vishnuvardhan memorial in Bangalore or at Mysore at a cost of Rs. 100 million.
While the place for the memorial has not been decided, opinions differed as to where it would be located with a faction of the Sandalwood industry wanting it to be set up at Abhiman Studio in Uttarhalli in Bangalore. The CM said that the proposed memorial would be built after consulting the family members of the late star.
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.
