Hindi
Reliance MediaWorks to strengthen presence in South India
MUMBAI: Reliance ADA Group company Reliance MediaWorks plans to deepen its presence in the Tamil and Telugu markets as it looks to expand its domestic entertainment services portfolio across films, broadcast and television commercials through strategic alliances, capacity expansion and leveraging of existing relationships.
To strengthen the services offerings in South India market, Reliance MediaWorks has recently partnered with VenSat to expand its VFX, CG and Animation capabilities and create a studio in Chennai. It has also tied up with Annapurna Studios to manage and operate their studio facility and operate and expand the Digital Post Production facility at the Hyderabad studios.
Reliance MediaWorks CEO Anil Arjun said, “In 2012, we plan to deepen our presence in the Tamil and Telugu market through our strategic alliances and additionally further strengthen our service offerings and leverage of existing relationships with capacity expansion and new strategic partnerships. With production values constantly going up we see a significant potential and growth opportunity.”
Reliance MediaWorks had offered varied services such as Motion Picture Processing, Digital Intermediate (DI), Digital Cinema mastering, Promos and trailer services and visual effects for 110 out of 114 Bollywood films that released in 2011. The company also handled DI and VFX for over 65 films besides starting to offer 3D Conversion services to Bollywood Studios, Don 2 being its first domestic project.
The company, which also operates digital restoration and content processing services facilities in India, has restored over 250 legacy films in 2011 which includes titles like Sholay, Laawaris, Devdas and Do Bhigha Zameen.
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.
