Hindi
NFDC shortlists 6 for Screenwriters’ Lab 2012
Mumbai: The National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) has announced the names of six participants who will travel to the Venice International Film Festival to take part in the Screenwriters‘ Lab 2012.
They are Kanu Behl of Titli, Umesh Kulkarni of Antaraal, Ruchika Oberoi of Island City, Siddharth Sinha of Behind the Camera, Alankrita Shrivastava of Lipstick under My Burkha and Anupam Barve of The Shadow Lines.
These screenwriters will attend the first working session of the Lab with mentors like Marten Rabarts, Olivia Stewart, Urmi Juvekar and Bianca Taal.
The 2nd session will be held at Film Bazaar, Goa during the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in November next where participants will apply their training and pitch their revised screenplays to participants at the film market.
Conducted by NFDC, in association with Binger FilmLab, Netherlands and Venice International Film Festival; Screenwriters‘ Lab is a 2-part workshop designed to prepare screenwriters with original Indian stories for working with the international filmmaking community.
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.
