Hindi
Tribute to Irrfan Khan to be the highlight of Florence Indian filmfest
NEW DELHI: A tribute to actor Irrfan Khan, who will soon be seen in Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World (the new chapter in the Jurassic Park saga out in June 2015) will receive Europe’s first tribute, with the screening of three of his films at the 14th River to River Florence Indian Film Festival in Italy, later this week.
The festival being held from 6 to 12 December will feature Qissa by Anup Singh (Italian premiere on 7 December) in the presence of director Anup Singh and Irrfan Khan), Paan Singh Tomar by Tigmanshu Dhulia (Italian premiere, on 8 December), and the cult movie The Namesake by Mira Nair (on 12 December).
In addition, seven episodes of the third series of the US HBO episodes of In Treatment that the actor starred in will be screened from 9 to 11 December. Khan will receive ‘The Key to the City’ from the Lord Mayor of Florence Dario Nardella.
Apart from Florence, this festival will be held in Rome on 13 and 14 December and in Milan in February. All films will have English and Italian subtitles. Also, for the first time, the festival will be held in Mumbai in March next year.
The festival will open with the Italian premiere of the on-the-road comedy Finding Fanny by Homi Adajana, with a stellar cast including Nasseruddin Shah, Arjun Kapoor, Pankaj Kapur, Dimple Kapadia and Deepika Padukone. Deepika Padukone stars in the closing film too- Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela by Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
The selected short films, all Italian premiers, are 6 Cup Chai by Laila Khan, Dreamworks by Vishal Vittal, Hechki by Kartik Singh, My Dear Americans by Arpita Kumar, The Frame by Samvida Nanda (directors Laila Khan and Kartik Singh will meet the audience); 8 to 8 by Pratim Dasupta, Bar Stools by filmmaking duo Varun Bajaj and Neale Hemrajani, Chypre by Anish Dedhia, Int Café night by Adhiraj Bose, and Stuff by Sofian Khan.
There will also be a Student Film Section, a selection of non-competing premieres from India’s three film schools, the Film and TV Institute of Pune, the Whistling Woods of Mumbai, and the Prasad Film and TV Institute of Chennai.
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.
