Hindi
Rajesh Khanna and Shriram Lagoo to be feted at Pune Film Fest
MUMBAI: The seven-day Pune International Film Festival (PIFF) that goes underway on 7 January will be inaugurated by Dev Anand in the presence of State Ministers Sunil Tatkare and Ramesh Bagwe at Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir.
Chairman of the PIFF, Suresh Kalmadi said that the film festival would be the official film festival of the Government of Maharashtra from this year, as 2010 is also the golden jubilee year of the state.
This year, PIFF will confer lifetime achievement awards to Rajesh Khanna and Dr Shriram Lagoo for their outstanding contribution towards Indian cinema and theatre.
Starting this year, PIFF will introduce ‘Sachin Dev Burman international award for creative music and sound‘ for individuals who make a significant contribution in the field of music.
The first recipient of this honour would be music composer Pyarelal of the famous Laxmikant-Pyarelal duo.
This year, more than 150 films from 42 countries would be screened at six venues that include E-Square on University Road, Inox on Bund Garden Road, Fame at Fatima Nagar, City Pride in Kothrud, NFAI on Law College Road and NFAI on Paud Road.
Apart from the State Government, the festival is also being supported by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Directorate of Film Festivals, National Film Archives of India (NFAI), Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), Alliance de Francais and Whistling Woods.
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.
