Hindi
Sanjay Dutt sings Qawali after 41 years in Apoorva Lakhia’s ‘Zanjeer’
NEW DELHI: Actor Sanjay Dutt, who had acted as member of a qawali party forty-one years earlier in his father Sunil Dutt‘s Reshma aur Shera as a child artiste, will be rendering a qawali once again as the iconic Sher Khan in the forthcoming re-imagined version of Zanjeer.
While the new version being released on 7 September stars Ramsharan and Priyanka Chopra with Sanjay Dutt, the original starred megastar Amitabh Bachchan – who was also an artiste inReshma aur Shera – with Jaya Bachchan.
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Sanjay‘s formal debut had come years later in his father‘s film Rocky, which went on to be a massive hit. Today after 41 years in the industry, Sanjay has over 150 films in his kitty.
Dutt has donned a never-seen-before look. His look as Sher Khan which was revealed some time back in the trailer has already been admired by audiences.
The actor himself was extremely psyched about doing the qawali sequence in the songKhochey Pathan Ki Zubaan and director Apoorva Lakhia is confident that this will be one of Sanjay Dutt‘s most memorable performances on the big screen.
Along with Sanjay Dutt Apoorva Lakhia‘s tour de force Zanjeer stars an elite ensemble cast of Ram Charan, Priyanka Chopra, Prakash Raj, Mahie Gill and Atul Kulkarni.
Zanjeer has been produced by Reliance Entertainment, Puneet Prakash Mehra, Sumeet Prakash Mehra and Flying Turtle Films, and co-produced by Rampage Motion Pictures.
Hindi
Government backs film production through DCDFC, co-production push
Scheme funds cinema, WAVES 2025 boosts global ties and industry growth.
MUMBAI: Lights, camera… policy action. As India’s screens glow brighter at home and abroad, the government is quietly scripting a bigger role behind the scenes funding films, fuelling collaborations and nudging the country closer to its “create for the world” ambition. At the centre of this effort is the Development, Communication & Dissemination of Filmic Content (DCDFC) scheme, a 100 per cent centrally funded initiative designed to support film production across the country. Through this scheme, the government provides direct financial backing to projects, aiming to strengthen both mainstream and alternative storytelling ecosystems while encouraging cinematic excellence.
The implementation runs through the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), which plays a key role in facilitating film production, including regional cinema and documentaries. Beyond the screen, the scheme also feeds into the broader economy creating jobs for local technicians, artists and service providers, and strengthening grassroots production networks across states.
The push, however, is not limited to funding alone. India’s ambition to position itself as a global content powerhouse was on display at the World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit 2025 held in Mumbai, which brought together creators, producers, startups and global stakeholders from over 100 countries. The summit acted as a convergence point for Indian storytelling and international capital, with OTT platforms, investors and technology leaders exploring partnerships in a rapidly evolving content economy.
Complementing this is the government’s focus on audio-visual co-production agreements, which effectively operate on a public-private partnership model. By enabling Indian and international producers to collaborate, these agreements are designed to bring in investment, global expertise and advanced filmmaking practices while also giving Indian stories a wider global footprint.
Support also extends to film culture and preservation. Grants are provided for domestic film festivals recommended by state governments, alongside curated film packages, masterclasses and workshops to nurture talent and audience engagement. The NFDC further collaborates with State Film Development Corporations, offering technical expertise across the filmmaking value chain and supporting the preservation of local film heritage.
Many states, in parallel, are encouraging the development of film infrastructure including production studios often through public-private partnership models, signalling a coordinated push to build a more robust audiovisual ecosystem.
The update was shared in Parliament by Ashwini Vaishnaw in response to a query from Thirumaavalavan Tholkappiyan, outlining a multi-layered approach that blends funding, infrastructure, policy and global outreach.
Taken together, the message is clear: India is not just telling more stories, it is building the machinery to tell them bigger, better and to the world.
