Hindi
Cinekorn acquires Asia distribution rights of ‘Airlift’ from B4U
MUMBAI: Cinekorn Entertainment has acquired the Asian distribution rights of Akshay Kumar’s new film Airlift from B4U Television, which is the official international distributor of the film.
Produced by Emmay Entertainment, Airlift is based on the true events of the world’s biggest evacuation from Kuwait in 1990. The film released on 22 January, 2016 and Cinekorn Entertainment is distributing the film in all major areas of the continent.
Cinekorn Entertainment’s Kalapi Nagada said, “Asia has always been a splurging market for Hindi Films and the numbers are increasing day by day as more of non ethnic audiences have been getting glued to Hindi films. We have acquired the film from B4U Television, who is the official international distributor of the film Airlift. We are very positive and confident on the film since in the past Akshay Kumar with Singh is Bliing and Baby has become very popular among local audiences. In fact, we plan to go all out in terms of release spread for Airlift from the growing popularity of the past Akshay Kumar films.”
Prior to this, Cinekorn acquired distribution rights for films like Jazbaa, Singh is Bliing, Happy New Year and Haider. These movies were screened in theatres in Sri Lanka, UAE, Malaysia and Singapore.
Directed by Raja Menon, Airlift stars Nimrat Kaur opposite Kumar.
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.
