Hindi
Trinity Pictures to ‘Sniff’ out success in kids’ domain
MUMBAI: Eros International’s Trinity Pictures has rolled out its first feature film, Sniff, a big-scale kid’s live action-adventure film this month. A fresh new genre introduced in Indian cinema, the film went on floor on September 5, the day marking the commencement of Ganesh Chaturthi and will be shot across various locations in Mumbai.
Helmed by the acclaimed director, Amole Gupte, of Taare Zameen Par and Stanley Ka Dabba fame, the man behind several acclaimed children-centric films, reputed to spot talent in children and introduce fresh new faces in Indian film industry (Darsheel Safari in Taare Zameen Par, his son Partho in Stanley Ka Dabba, etc.), is all set to launch his next discovery Khushmeet Gill, an 8-year-old ‘wonder’ boy who plays the lead character in this family entertainer that revolves around a young Sikh boy, who is a spy in the making along with his curious gang of extraordinary cohorts.
Gupte commenced the shoot with his young star in Mumbai with a Ganesh Aarti sung by Shankar Mahadevan. Music in the film has been composed by Mujtaba Aziz Naza, son of the famous Qawwali singer Aziz Naza.
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.
