Hindi
Film audience rues being taken for granted: stars & others’ poor show this week
*What Shah Rukh Khan and director Imtiaz Ali have done with Jab Harry Met Sejal can be called a patch-up job. The distributors may lose money but what Shah Rukh Khan has lost in this one weekend is his 25 years of stardom and goodwill.
The Pandora’s Box opened with a poor response. The film turned out to be the most negatively rated film ever; the audience anger was palpable — for being taken for granted. To add to their fury were the escalated admission rates at the cinema halls, especially at the multiplexes.
The film collected approximately Rs 145 million on day one, dropped a little on Saturday followed by and managed similar collections even on Sunday to end its first week. The film was expected to get some sustenance on Raksha Bandhan holiday in many parts of India.
*Gurgaon, a film about a local land-grabbing mafia of Gurgaon city, found no takers. Local issues don’t draw viewers.
*Mubarakan failed to encash on its potential. Despite being a family entertainer, it suffered due to poor opening and, then, also failed to pick during its first week. However, due to negative reports of Jab Harry Met Sejal, the film got a better second weekend. It collected Rs 349 million for its opening week and added Rs 60 million in the second weekend.
*Indu Sarkar, the film on the Emergency, collected Rs 45 million in its first week. Very poor.
*Raag Desh, the film about three INA soldiers facing the wrath of the British army, remained very poor. It collected about Rs 7.5 million in its first week.
*Munna Michael added Rs 11.5 million in its second week taking its two-week tally to Rs 319.5 million.
*Lipstick Under My Burkha collected Rs 64 million in week two to take its two-week total to Rs 169 million.
*Jagga Jasoos collected about Rs 8 million in its third week to take its three week tally to Rs 512 million.
*Mom collected Rs 7.5 million, taking its three-week total to Rs 326 million.
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.
