Hindi
Anupam Kher honoured with a City Proclamation in LA
MUMBAI: Veteran Bollywood actor Anupam Kher, who was recently seen in Oscar winning film Silver Linings Playbook, was honoured by Los Angeles City Council president Herb J. Wesson, Jr and 4th District council member Tom Labonge with a City Proclamation at Los Angeles City Hall on 26 February.
The actor was much appreciated in Bend It Like Beckham and went on to do Bride & Prejudice, The Mistress of Spices, American Blend, Hope and a Little Sugar, Midnight‘s Children and appeared on the medical drama series ER in the role of Parminder Nagra‘s (Dr. Neela Rasgotra in the show) father.
Kher said, "It is a big event because I am being honoured as an actor, and not only as an Indian actor. The Proclamation from the City of Los Angeles would be an endorsement of the fact that Asian actors are not seen as peculiar phenomena on a global platform. Of course, most of my films are Indian and I am an Indian actor. It was given to me on the same day as they gave it to the Legendary Dick Van Dyke."
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.
