Hindi
Mumbai Intl fest announces lineup
MUMBAI: The 12th Mumbai International Film Festival for documentary, short and animation films has announced its lineup.
Pink Saris, directed by Kim Longinotto which screened at 54th BFI London Film Festival and won an award at the 35th Hong Kong International Film Festival, will participate in the International Competition for documentaries.
Jai Bhim Comrade, directed by Anand Patwardhan which recently won a Special Mention at 8th Dubai International Film Festival, will also x be screened in International Competition.
Some of the films that will screen in the Indian competition are It’s the Same Story by Nina Sabnani, The Eclipse of Taregna by Rakesh Chaudhary, Visible Bra Straps by Ajitesh Sharma, Aaliya by Rajiv Mohite, Partners in Crime by Paromita Vohra, Inshallah, Football by Ashvin Kumar and The Rat Race by Miriam Chandy Menacherry.
Meanwhile, details of foreign entries are awaited.
The festival will be held from February 3 to 9.
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.
