Hindi
Star power fades away, collections crumble
*Writer-director Gauri Shinde followed her success of English Vinglish with Dear Zindagi. To her advantage, she had the reigning star, Shah Rukh Khan, along with an emerging star, Alia Bhatt, to boast of in the cast.
However, the theme she chose was not quite identifiable with the Indian audience, that of a young girl needing a psychiatrist for various not-so-convincing reasons. But, having a star on your roaster also has its demands. So, instead of a typical shrink, we had Khan playing himself on screen.
An enjoyable film about three fiercely independent girls living life on their own terms through the length of the film, it turns to Khan analysing Alia which, carries on what feels like indefinitely!
With a limited screen engagement (850 screens), the film found its initial audience to a limited extent over the weekend but the returning audience did not seem to have much good to say about the film. The film had an opening day of about Rs 8 crore which, considering the face value, showed a skeptical attitude from the moviegoer. The film showed some improvement over Saturday and Sunday to close its opening weekend with about Rs 30 crore.
*Moh Maya Money got a poor response at the box office.
* Force 2, a sequel to Force (2011), showed a sign of overconfidence from makers. To make a sequel to a film that did not work in the first place defies logic unless, of course, you think that the title and a muscle-flexing hero can carry the franchise through.
The film’s performance followed its poor opening day response and collections. The film collected Rs 25.9 crore in its first week.
*Tum Bin 2, a sequel to 2001 Tum Bin, met with a disastrous outcome with first week collection of Rs 3.15 crore.
*Rock On 2 managed a bare Rs 40 lakh in its second week to take its two week total to Rs 8.95 crore.
*Ae Dil Hai Mushkil collected Rs 1.75 crore in its fourth week to take its four week tally to Rs 102.45 crore.
*Shivaay collected Rs 1.6 crore in its fourth week taking its four week total to Rs 85.7 crore.
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.
