Hindi
Rowdy Rathore nets Rs 1 bn in 10 days, Shanghai bombs
MUMBAI: Rowdy Rathore registered one of the biggest opening weekend figures and went on to hold steady through the week to collect Rs 795 million, the third highest after Ra.One’s Rs 925 million (which had an eight-and-a-half day week as the film was released on Wednesday) and Bodyguard (Rs 890 million, which had a nine-day week having been released on Wednesday).
The Akshay Kumar-starrer benefitted due to a weak opposition in Shanghai and went on to add another Rs 219 million to its second weekend, thus crossing the Rs 1 billion mark on day 10 and taking its total to Rs 1.01 billion.
Meanwhile, Shanghai, which opened to very poor response, failed to recover over the weekend due to bad word of mouth. The film collected Rs 122 million over the first weekend and is expected to fall further as the week begins.
Department has proved to be a washout film.
Ishqzaade added Rs 11.5 million in its fourth week, taking its total to Rs 469.5 million. Jannat 2 came to the end of its run, managing a symbolic Rs 500,000. Its total collections to date stood at Rs 459.5 million.
Vicky Donor collected Rs 8 million in its seventh week to end its net collections at Rs 412.5 million so far.
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.
