Hindi
Prime Focus dominates eight Indian nominations at Apollo Awards
NEW DELHI: Eight Indian entries have been shortlisted for the Apollo Awards for television programming in Asia to be presented next month in Singapore.
There are a total of 15 categories for the awards, to be announced 18 June in conjunction with BroadcastAsia 2014 – the 19th International Digital Multimedia & Entertainment Technology Exhibition and Conference, at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.
First launched in 2005, the Apollo Awards is an initiative aimed at honouring the best in production and post-production across Asia Pacific, with a strong focus on the creative and technical mastery behind the scenes.
In Direction – Short Form category, the Indian entry is Suresh Eriyat for Kitkat Astronaut- Diwali by Studio Eeksaurus Production, and this programme has also been shortlisted in Art Direction by SandeepShelhar and Ashok.
Prakash Kurup and Huzefa Lokhandwala of Prime Focus have been shortlisted for two programmes – Mahindra Taqdeer and Royal Challenger in Editing – Short Form category.
Swapnil Patil of Studio Eeksaurus Production has been nominated in 2D Animation for two programmes: Rotary Fateline and Rotary Heartline.
In the Visual Effects/CGI – Long Form, the Indian entry nominated is Stefen Fangmeier and Merzin Tavaria of Prime Focus for Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.
Prime Focus also gets the nomination in the Visual Effects// CGI – Short Form for Prakash Kurup and Huzefa Lokhandwala for the programme Panasonic.
The 23-member jury includes one Indian namely Studio Eeksaurus founder and creative director Suresh Eriyat.
In recent years, the fluid nature of talent migration in the production and post-production industry, coupled with the growth of Asia Pacific’s media and entertainment industry, has drawn top talent to the region and elevated the quality of work produced in this region.
To reflect this growing expertise, the Apollo Awards seeks to showcase and reward more niche specialties in production and post-production in the years to come.
Since the launch of its new and improved version in 2013, the Apollo Awards has garnered attention from industry players as the nature of the awards is uncommon in this region.
With a distinguish jury of academic excellence and industry expertise in the technical and creative fields, and the results tabulated and audited by an international auditing firm, this is the highly anticipated Award for production and post-production artists in the Asia Pacific region.
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.
