Hindi
Film City in Mumbai set for revamp
MUMBAI: The Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari, popularly known as Film City, is soon to be spruced up. The Maharashtra government has decided to equip it with state-of-the-art facilities. It also intends to make the film shooting facility a tourist spot on the lines of the Ramoji Rao Film City in Hyderabad.
Said Film City spokesperson Saini, “There are some development plans that we have just started working on. It’s an ongoing process and will take some time before it gets implemented. We will first set a committee that will wholly work on the master plan.”
A final decision will be taken within 20 days.
“We also want it to become a sought after tourist spot. However, we won‘t open the entire Film City for tourism purposes. There will be just few places that will be open to the general public,” the spokesperson added.
The government has decided to equip it with lavish and state-of-the-art sets to make it a one-stop for filmmakers. Special arrangements will be made for tourists to have access to shoots.
Besides, a Bollywood museum is being planned.
The Film City, situated in the northern suburb of Goregaon, was built by Maharashtra government’s department of cultural affairs and was inaugurated on 26 September, 1977. Initially known as the Maharashtra Film Stage and Cultural Development Corporation, it was renamed in 2001 as the Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari.
Among the recent films that were shot at Film City are Devdas, Ready and Bodyguard among others. The ongoing TV show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) is also being shot there.
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.
