Hindi
Reliance Big Pictures to release Abohomaan on 22 January
MUMBAI: Reliance Big Pictures will release Rituparno Ghosh‘s Abohomaan on 22 January.This would be the first Bengali release coming from the Big Pictures stable in 2010.
Says Reliance Big Pictures‘ CEO Sanjeev Lamba, “After Shob Charitro Kalponik, we are extremely glad to extend our relationship with Rituparno Ghosh to release Abohomaan. The film‘s response across various festivals is a testimony to the maestro‘s craftsmanship brilliantly with the most talented actors in Bengal.”
The film that has travelled extensively in the international festival circuit will be the production house‘s second dealing with Ghosh. It has been well received at various international film festivals including Montreal World Film Festival 09, Pusan International Film Festival 09, Mumbai Film Festival 09 and Morocco Film Festival 09.
Says director Ghosh, “Abohomaan has garnered a very heartening response from film festivals all across the world and is finally set for a theatrical release in Bengal. I am very eager to know how the cineastes in our home territory will respond to the film.”
Abohomaan explores the nuances of relationships as a married Aniket, one of Bengal‘s finest directors, falls in love with Shikha, an actress as young as his son. Shikha bears an uncanny resemblance to Deepti, Aniket‘s wife as she was in her younger days. And thus begin the trials and tribulations of what was till then a picture perfect family with a father, mother and son.
The film has Deepankar De, Mamata Shankar and Jishu Sengupta essaying stellar roles. It also has Ananya Chatterjee and Riya Sen who makes her debut in Bengali films with Abohomaan.
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.
