Hindi
PVR Director’s Rare Label shortlists six films for release
Mumbai: PVR Director‘s Rare label has shortlisted six films like Celluloid Man, Jai Bhim Comrade, Gulabi Gang, Songs of Mashangva, Spirit Unbound and Children of the Pyre for release.
Celluloid Man: A Film On P.K. Nair by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur honours the contribution of P K Nair to disseminate film culture in India. Nair was the founder-director of the National Film Archive of India (NFAI), Pune. His efforts have resulted in a coveted collection of 12,000 films at the NFAI from a start-up of 124 films.
The film, that was screened at the 39th edition of the Telluride Film Festival (TFF) in Colorado, USA, is scheduled to screen under the Real Reel Section of the 14th Mumbai Film Festival.
Jai Bhim Comrade, by Anand Patwardhan, follows the music and the tradition of activism of the Dalits in India over 14 years. It won a Special Mention at the Dubai International Film Festival 2011 followed by an award at the 12th Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation films. It also competed at the 36th Hong Kong International Film Festival and screened at the Sheffield International Documentary Festival 2012.
Gulabi Gang, by Nishtha Jain, traces Sampat Pal and the fiery women of her Gulabi Gang who take up the fight against gender violence, caste oppression and widespread corruption in Bundelkhand. The film will be screened under the Reflecting Images: Masters programme of the 25th edition of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. Gulabi Gang was awarded a $25,000 grant from the Sundance Documentary Film Program.
Songs of Mashangva, by Oinam Doren, traces the music of the Tangkhul Naga and its return to the modern age: as Naga Folk Blues. The protagonist Rewben Mashangva travels through the villages of the Tangkhul Naga to talk to the old people and collect songs and instruments. The film won the 58th National Award for Best Ethnographic Film in the non-feature film category and was in competition at the 18th edition of the Lessinia Film Festival.
Spirit Unbound by Tonmoy Saha is a musical that explores the independent music genre in the India. The film features lives of veteran and upcoming independent musicians in the country.
Children of the Pyre, by Rajesh Jala, is a 2008 film that documents the lives of seven children working in extreme condition at the cremation ground in Manikarnika in Banaras. The film has been screened at more than fifty international film festivals.
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.
