Hindi
Dud weeks; Rustom brings some solace
MUMBAI: A one-woman non-army. Akira, a film banking solely on Sonakshi Sinha with action as the main theme, fails on two counts. The film does not even contain as much action as its promos showed. And, Sonakshi does not quite manage to carry the film through.
The film had no major opposition to contend with but that did not help it get a decent opening. Struggling from day one when the film collected Rs 4.6 crore, barely improving on Saturday while the expected Sunday rise also remained negligible. The film collected Rs 15.7 crore for its opening weekend.
It film faced a major drop on Monday despite a holiday in some parts of India.
*Yeh Toh Two Much Ho Gayaa fails badly.
*Island City goes unnoticed.
*Sunshine Music Tours and Travels fails to find an audience.
*A Flying Jatt succumbs to its poor treatment and fails to appeal to its target audience, children. The film had an average opening response. After showing a weak trend during its opening weekend, the film dropped drastically Monday onwards managing just Rs 33.75 crore for its first week.
*Happy Bhag Jayegi sustains with a decent second week in the absence of competition. The film adds Rs 6.3 crore for its second week taking its two-week total to Rs 23.2 crore.
*Mohenjo Daro continues its poor run at the box office. The film added just about Rs 50 lakh in its third week to take its three week total to Rs 54.3 crore.
*Rustom maintains strong collections in its third week being a universally-appealing film to watch. The film collects Rs 6.8 crore in its third week to take its three week tally to Rs 121.6 crore.
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.
