Hindi
DAM 999 nominated for China’s Golden Rooster Awards
MUMBAI: Devoid of an Academy award even after being shortlisted, Sohan Roy’s DAMM 999 has been nominated for China’s Golden Rooster Awards, said to be the country’s answer to the Academy Awards.
With the nomination, DAM 999 becomes the first film from India to have qualified for the award.
DAM 999 was officially suggested to the festival committee by famous Israelian Director Dan Wolman, the eminent Jury of numerous International film festivals.
Said Roy, “I was a little apprehensive. I would like to thank Director Dan Wolman and the Festival committee for this surprise.”
Incidentally, DAM 999 was featured under the categories of ‘Best Picture, ‘Original Score‘ and ‘Original Soundtrack‘ at the Academy Awards. The film’s screenplay was also added to the permanent core collection in the Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences before it released in 2011.
DAM 999 is a tribute to the 1975 Banqiao Dam disaster in China that claimed 250,000 lives.
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.
