Hindi
Barfi! collects Rs 346 mn in opening weekend
Mumbai: The cautious limited screen release strategy with concentration on multiplexes for Barfi! has helped get good dividends for UTV. Despite mixed reports from viewers, the film has collected as much as Rs 346 million in its opening weekend.
However, the limited confidence in the film has created a dilemma for the company, which has another film, Heroine, lined up for release next Friday, 21 September. If Barfi! continues to do well at the multiplexes, as the exhibitors think it will, it would not be wise to discontinue the film for the sake of Heroine.
The exhibitors are advocating one or two shows per screen to Heroine and let the already proven Barfi! enjoy prime time shows. UTV could have planned the release of Heroine for 28th September which would have allowed a two week gap between the films and also helped skip the Ganeshostav week which does affect collections in parts of India.
The other two releases of the week, Jeena Hai Toh Thok Daal and Qayamat Hi Qayamat, failed to make any mark at the box office.
Raaz3, which took an excellent opening, ended its first week with a rewarding Rs 552.5 million. The second weekend is reasonably good as the film added another Rs 90.5 million taking its 10-day tally to Rs 643 million.
Joker collected Rs 16 million in its second week to take its total collection to Rs 207 million. Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi collected Rs 6 million in its third week taking its total collection to Rs 120 million.
Ek Tha Tiger continued to brave all fresh releases and managed to sustain at the box office. It added Rs 35.5 million for the fourth week. With this, the film‘s 30-day collection totalled Rs 1.98 billion.
Gangs Of Wasseypur II collected Rs 1.1 million in its fifth week to take its total collection to Rs 231.1 million.
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.
