Hindi
Guild to honour Manoj Kumar with lifetime achievement award
MUMBAI: As part of its first endeavour to celebrate the centenary of Indian cinema, the Film And Television Producers Guild of India headed by filmmaker Ramesh Sippy will felicitate producer-director-actor Manoj Kumar with the lifetime achievement honour at the Apsara award function today.
Reacting to the honour he is to be bestowed, the Padma Shri awardee, said, “It‘s a great feeling and a proud moment to be honoured by the people who know filmmaking.”
The filmmaker, who has always been part of meaningful cinema of which patriotism was a byproduct, is soon going to announce his next project titled DNA Report.
As far as the casting is concerned, the reputed director hopes to cast Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor.
The Apsara award is scheduled to be held at Yash Raj Studios this evening.
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.
