Hindi
Annapurna Studios invests Rs 1 bn in 5 film studios
MUMBAI: In its hope to target Hollywood with cheaper labour and studio rentals in India, Annapurna Studios has added five state-of-the-art studios with an investment of Rs 1 billion.
Situated in an area measuring 10,00,000 square feet, this is one of Asia‘s most modern studios, offering concept-to-can facility.
Annapurna Studios managing director and popular Telugu actor Akkineni Nagarjuna said that the air conditioned studios with integrated facilities were on par with international standards. “We hope to attract Hollywood. We are already getting some inquiries,” he averred.
He said that Annapurna Studios would first target Bollywood, adding that very few studios in Mumbai had the kind of facilities which his studio offers.
Annapurna Studios, founded by his father and legendary actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao three decades ago, will throw open the new facility in a week. Nagarjuna expects a turnover of between Rs. 45 to
Rs. 50 crore by the end of 2013 from the new facility.
Last year, the studio opened a film and media school that has so far trained 100 students in different fields of film, television and media.
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.
