Hindi
Prince Charles shows interest in Indian film industry
NEW DELHI: The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel starring several Indian actors include Lillette Dubey, Dev Patel and Tina Desai, had a royal premiere at the Odeon in Leicester in London, which was made up to look like a set with flower garlands and coloured drapes from the Jaipur-based film.
The cast and crew walked the red carpet with members of the British royal family earlier this week. Prince Charles and Duchess of Cornwall Camilla joined Oscar-nominated director John Madden and members of the cast who included Dame Judi Dench, Dubey, Dame Maggie Smith and Desai.
The film, being released on 6 March, is a sequel to the 2012 film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and also stars Richard Gere, Bill Nighy, Celia Imrie, Penelope Wilton and Tamsin Greig.
Later, Desai said the royal couple had been “extremely warm and gracious” and Prince Charles was very interested in the Bollywood film industry. The original film earned more than $135 million at box office worldwide on a production budget of $10 million, according to a BBC report.
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.
