Hindi
Don 2 helps 2011 end on a positive note
MUMBAI: The last week of 2011 has ended on a positive note with moviegoers flocking to watch Bollywood Badshah Shah Rukh Khan who had a less successful year than Salman Khan.
The SRK starrer Don 2, a sequel of the earlier hit, benefitted with Christmas holidays to brave unfavourable reports. The movie, which collected Rs 753 million in its first week, added another Rs 192 million in its unopposed second weekend to take its 10-day tally to Rs 945 million.
The collections include Tamil and Telugu dubbed versions.
Kya Yahi Sach Hai, the solo release of the week, went haplessly unnoticed.
Pappu Can’t Dance Saala collected about Rs 1 million in its second week; its two-week total stayed a paltry Rs 4.1 million.
Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl added Rs 9 million in its third week, taking its net collections at the box office to Rs 333.5 million.
The Dirty Picture rocked steady, collecting Rs 15 million in its fourth week; its net collection stood at Rs 809.5 million.
Desi Boyz, the Hindi comedy drama, has netted Rs 414 million afer its five-week run, while Rockstar took its total collections to Rs 603 million in seven weeks.
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.
