Hindi
Deepika Padukone, Taurani patch up for Race 2
MUMBAI: After two days of negotiations, Deepika Padukone has finally decided to jump back on board for Ramesh Taurani‘s ‘Race 2‘, though she has set some conditions.
It is being said that after meeting Taurani yesterday, Padukone realised that it wouldn‘t be in her best interest to contest the filmmaker on monetary grounds.
Though the official CINTAA (Cine and TV Artistes‘ Association) meeting was called off 30 minutes before its scheduled time on Wednesday, the actress did end up meeting CINTAA general secretary Dharmesh Tiwari who asked her to stay away from monetary hassles and say ‘yes‘ to Taurani.
The conditions that Padukone has set are that she will not allot fresh dates to ‘Race 2‘, as she will be busy with Rajinikanth‘s ‘Kochadaiyaan‘ and the Ranbir Kapoor starrer ‘Jawaani Diwani‘. She has asked both Taurani and director Abbas-Mustan to not work with middlemen; she will only work with her chosen set of designers, hair stylist and makeup artist; she wants the makers to consult her for the release of their film because she wants no misunderstandings during the promotional phase of the film; and in case of a foreign schedule, the actress wants to be informed a month in advance.
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.
