Hindi
Mr Kabaadi…is where the film belongs
A number of not-so-regular filmmakers try their luck at film production. Their intention may be honest but lack of knowledge about how the film industry works as well as what works with moviegoers usually drowns them.
Since these newcomers don’t have access to big stars nor would the big stars agree to work with them, they end up making films with whoever is ready to work for money. Such films go unnoticed and the new entrepreneur ends up losing money.
What is grossly disheartening about Mr Kabaadi is that, it is not only a waste of money but also of a huge talent bank of actors like Om Puri, Annu Kapoor, Vinay Pathak and Brijendra Kala.
The film has no purpose, no head or tail and depicts total bankruptcy of ideas.
The role played by Annu Kapoor is that of a ‘kabaadiwala,’ a scrap dealer who suddenly inherits millions. From his shabby basti and his equally poor friends, he shifts to a bungalow with three balconies and two wading pools. He has married his kabaadi days love, Sarika, and now has a son and a daughter. Now that he is rich, Annu hates the word kabaadi and does not want anybody to remind him of his past.
While his daughter is shown to be fairly educated and can converse in English, his son is a fifth standard dropout who has excelled in the business of running a chain of public toilets! (This is the kind of comedy it is, believe it.)
Annu wants to get his son married but no family would tie the knot with a boy who has a business of toilets. The girl is a rebel and won’t agree to the match her parents find.
The boy and the girl separately fall in love and this senseless ‘tamasha’ goes on.
There is no sense talking about performances in this film because, as mentioned earlier. Less said about writing, direction and other aspects of the film, the better.
Producer: Anup Jalota.
Director: Seema Kapoor.
Cast: Om Puri, Annu Kapoor, Sarika, Vinay Pathak and Brijendra Kala.
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.
