Hindi
Veer collects Rs 195 million in opening weekend
MUMBAI: Salman Khan’s Veer had a mixed response, opening strongly in some pockets of the country.
According to industry estimates, the first weekend collection of Veer totaled Rs 196 million. The film collected Rs 70 million on Friday, Rs 52.5 million on Saturday and Rs 73.5 million on Sunday.
Said trade analyst Taran Adarsh, “On day one, the film did a 90 per cent business in single-screen theatres while the multiplexes witnessed around 50 to 60 per cent average through the day.”
The film seems to have opened very well in north and central India, while in the west it received moderate response.
Says Fun Republic COO Vishal Kapoor, “Though the film is doing average business, it is booked up to Tuesday in the afternoon and evening shows. We are keeping our fingers crossed and hope that the film does well in spite of the bad reviews.”
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.
