Hindi
Poor show by new releases
Of the three new releases last Friday, Waiting happened to be the one people looked forward to thanks to Naseeruddin Shah in the lead. Alas, the box office collections did not show any appreciation in Shah and the film remained a very limited grosser barely managing to cross the Rscrore mark in its opening weekend. It collected Rs1.3 crore.
Phobia, a less publicized film blending horror with Agoraphobia, stayed poor. It managed just about Rs1.4 crore for its opening weekend.
Veerappan, an outdated story about the sandalwood mafia run by Veerappan in the jungles of Mysore, finds some footfalls at single screens. The film has collectedRs4.75 crore for its first weekend.
Fredrick passed unnoticed.
Sarbjit has not been able to make a mark with an inconclusive account of the life of an Indian in a Pakistani jail. There was not much relevance of the story for the moviegoer. The film has collected Rs19.4 crore in its first week.
Azhar has added Rs2.7 crore in its second week to take its two week total to Rs31.65 crore.
1920 London has collected Rs40 lakh in its third week to take its three week tally to Rs14.6 crore.
*Traffic has collected 20 lakh in its third week to take its three week total to 3.7 crore.
Baaghi has added Rs45 lakh in fourth week to take its four week tally to Rs78.05 crore.
The Jungle Book continues its stronghold on the box office. The film has added Rs2.7 crore in its seventh week taking its seven week tally to Rs182.65 crore.
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.
