Hindi
Road To Sangam to release on 29 January
MUMBAI: Gipsy Films‘ Road To Sangam is being readied for release on 29 January.
Produced by Amit Chheda and directed by Amit Rai, the film is a story of a
God-fearing, devout Muslim mechanic named Hashmat Ullah (Paresh Rawal) who has been entrusted the job of repairing an old V8 ford engine, not knowing the historic significance that it once carried the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi which were immersed in the holy river ‘Sangam‘.
He is caught in a complex situation after a powerful bomb explosion rocks his town leading to the arrest of innocent Muslim youths of his locality. A strike to work is called by the prominent Muslim leaders played by Om Puri and Pavan Mallhotra to protest against the unjust treatment meted out to those arrested youths by the police.
Will he support the protest and abandon the repair of the engine or go against the wishes of his community?
Presented by Shashikant Chheda, Road to Sangam shot completely on actual locations in Allahabad, stars Paresh Rawal, Om Puri, Pavan Malhotra, Javed Shaikh and Swati Chitnis among others.
The film has been screened prominently in the festival circuit, the prominent ones being the Cannes Film Festival, The Ahmedabad Film Festival, The Thirussur Film Festival, Levante Film Frestival Italy, Kolkata Film Festival, Third Eye Film Festival and the 14th Kerala Film Festival.
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.
