Hindi
Dhurandhar worldwide box office storms past Rs 1,200 crore, beats KGF 2
MUMBAI: Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar continues its box-office rampage, crossing the Rs 1,200 crore mark worldwide in just 31 days and sealing its place among the five highest-grossing Indian films of all time.
The Ranveer Singh-led spy thriller is only the sixth Indian film to breach the Rs 1,200 crore milestone and has now overtaken Yash’s KGF Chapter 2 to rank fifth on the all-time global charts.
At the domestic box office, Dhurandhar staged a strong fifth weekend recovery, adding over Rs 33 crore net across three days. Its India tally now stands at Rs 772.25 crore net, translating to Rs 926.7 crore gross. While weekday collections are expected to soften, the film remains firmly entrenched as the country’s top grosser, comfortably outpacing new releases including Avatar: Fire and Ash, Ikkis and Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri.
Overseas, the film has amassed $31 million so far and is tracking towards a top-10 all-time finish for Indian cinema abroad. The numbers are particularly striking given Dhurandhar’s absence from Middle Eastern markets following a ban, a setback estimated to have shaved at least $10 million off its international haul.
Even without that territory, the film’s worldwide gross has climbed to Rs 1,207 crore, underlining its status as one of the most dominant theatrical runs in recent Indian cinema.
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.
