Hindi
My Name Is Khan off to an electrifying start
MUMBAI: Despite sporadic incidents of violence and a limited release, My Name Is Khan has got off to an electrifying start and is on course to becoming a mega hit at the box-office.
Says trade analyst Taran Adarsh, “Marvelous is the right word to describe the initial response of My Name Is Khan. Practically every multiplex has generated a 100 per cent collection, while single screens in mass-dominated centres opened to a 70 to 80 per cent response.”
As reported earlier, the film had opened in Mumbai yesterday across ten multiplexes and a few single-screens. But today, all the concerned single-screen theatres and multiplexes are showing the Karan Johar film to full capacity.
Avers Cinemax Vice President Devang Sampat, “The response to this Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) starrer has been terrific. The film has been running to full houses in all our properties for all the shows yesterday and even today. In fact, we are booked till Sunday.”
My Name Is Khan was the star attraction at the Berlin Film Festival that opened yesterday.
Surprisingly, tickets of the film were not sold at ticket windows. While tickets available online were sold out in five seconds, e-bay auctioned tickets, each ticket costing 1000 Euros (Rs 60,000).
If the response sustains as the days go by, the film will garner enough eyeballs that will help its box-office soar to unheard-of proportions.
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.
