Hindi
Coming Soon: ‘Finding Fanny ‘- the novel
MUMBAI: With the release date nearing, for the most anticipated movie, Finding Fanny, the director Homi Adajania revealed that the movie will also be released in the form of a 200-plus page novel next year.
Homi while speaking about the same said in a statement, “My co-writer, Kersi Khambatta, wrote the novel based on my short story of Finding Fanny, and then we used that to develop the screenplay. My only issue was that I told him to keep the book on ice until the film was out.”
He further added that although he prefers books over films, he wanted people to watch Finding Fanny on the silver screen first. “Now that it is releasing soon, Kersi can sell the novel to publishers. It’s a funny read, and way more convoluted than the script.”
The duo reportedly has an offer by a leading publisher. The co-writer of the film Kersi Khambhatta while talking about his experience on writing the screenplay for the film said, “His process (of adapting a screenplay from a book) gave us a lot of colour, description and detail to play with. It eventually lent itself to a fatter and fuller screenplay as well. Our main motive was to make the movie first. Now that it is done, publishers have expressed an interest in reading the original manuscript of the novel.”
Finding Fanny is all set to hit the theatres on 12 September 2014 starring Deepika Padukone, Arjun Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Naseerudin Shah and Pankaj Kapur. The movie is about five quirky characters in the sleepy village of Pocolim. They go out on a trip to find the long last girlfriend, Fanny Fernandez, of one of the characters.
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.
