Hindi
Amitabh Bachchan and Farhan Akhtar to team up again
MUMBAI: After Lakshya, Amitabh Bachchan is yet again ready to team up with Farhan Akhtar but this time, unlike their previous venture, Farhan will be seen sharing screen space with the star.
Titled Do, the movie will be produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and directed by Bejoy Nambiar. The film will also have Aditi Rao Hydari playing the female lead.
Do is said to be an intense emotional drama which has Amitabh Bachchan playing the role of an ailing bed ridden chess master and is slated to go on floor on 29 September.
Excited about his new project, the legendary star posted on his blog, “Our work on the next film with Vidhu Vinod Chopra, has begun with class like readings and discussions, on table. It is a wonderful exercise to be able to go through an entire script with the entire cast.”
“Yet have some reserve stored up for the final moment when we shall all be facing the camera, instead of a written and bound script, with that ominous looking producer Vinod, looking down upon us with fierce and hard workman like expressions,” he added.
Bachchan has earlier worked with Chopra in 2007 film Eklavya: The Royal Guard but this is the first collaboration between the actor and Nambiar, best known for helming Shaitan.
After Amitabh Bachchan’s Yudh came to an end recently, the superstar is busy hosting the popular quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati and also preparing for Shoojit Sircar’s Piku starring Deepika Padukone and Irrfan Khan. On the other hand, Farhan Akhtar is wrapping up his sister Zoya Akhtar’s film Dil Dhadakne Do. The actor is also producing films like Bangistan, Raees and the upcoming film on time travelling starring Sidharth Malhotra under his banner Excel Entertainment.
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.
