Hindi
Gangs of Wasseypur premieres at London fest
MUMBAI: The London Indian Film Festival opened recently with the UK-premiere of Anurag Kashyap‘s Gangs of Wasseypur.
“The London Indian Film Festival is lucky for me. My Dev D played in year one followed by the premiere of That Girl In Yellow Boots in year two and got UK distribution and now I‘ve opened the festival. It‘s a great platform,” observed Kashyap.
Besides Kashyap, others prominent at the red carpet included actress Tannishtha Chatterjee and Ferena Wazeir. The celebrity wave continued with acclaimed British Asian actors Riz Ahmed (Trishna), Upen Patel (Namastey London) and Shiv Jhala (whose ‘Arjun and Alison‘ will enjoy its World Premiere at the festival on 30 June), walking the red carpet and obliging screaming fans with photo opportunities.
“We are delighted that this year‘s London Indian Film Festival has opened to such a tremendous response. We have a diverse range of events scheduled for the next two weeks, including the brilliant collaboration of director Q‘s Gandu Circus along with Susheela Raman and many World and UK film premieres,” observed Festival Director Cary Sawhney.
Anushka Sharma, currently filming in London for Yash Chopra‘s next opposite Shah Rukh Khan, also attended the premiere. After the screening, Sharma promptly remarked, “ I enjoyed Gangs of Wasseypur enormously and am looking forward to working with Kashyap in Bombay Velvet.”
Also present were directors Asif Kapadia , Michael Winterbottom, Sidharth Sharma, Devanand Shanmugam and Sarovar Banka.
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.
