Hindi
For a first PVR to release documentaries under Director’s Rare banner
MUMBAI: PVR cinemas is slated to release three documentaries under the banner of Director‘s Rare. The documentaries are – Fire In Babylon on 21 September, Bom / One Day Ahead Of Democracy to on 9 November and Celluloid Man sometime in December.
All along PVR Cinemas has been releasing independent feature films under Director‘s Rare brand but this is the first time that documentary features are being released under the banner.
Observes, Head of PVR Director‘s Rare Shiladitya Bora, “We at PVR Cinemas believe that there is a space for all kinds of cinema. We have already pushed the envelope by giving mainstream exhibition to indie content. Now we want to take a step forward and treat our audiences with some exceptional documentaries which deserve to be seen.
In the coming weeks we will be releasing some award winning Indian as well as international documentaries under PVR Director‘s Rare banner,” he adds.
Fire In Babylon, by Steven Riley charts the ascendancy of the West Indies cricket team throughout the late ‘70s and ‘80s. The film strikes a defiant blow at the forces of the apartheid world, through a game previously reserved for the privileged elite. The film was nominated for a British Independent Film Award for Best Documentary and was a joint-winner of the UNESCO Award at the Jamaica Reggae Film Festival 2011.
Set in a remote village of Malana in the Himalayas Bom / One Day Ahead Of Democracy by Amlan Datta depicts the invasion of modern democracy in this land of harmony, peace and unity, resulting in the destruction of the latter.
Celluloid Man: A Film On P.K. Nair by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur honours the contribution of P K Nair to disseminate film culture in India. Nair was the founder-director of the National Film Archive of India (NFAI), Pune. His efforts have resulted in a coveted collection of 12,000 films at the NFAI from the start up of 124 films.
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.
