Hindi
Two Indian films to screen at Monteal World Film fest
MUMBAI: Two Indian films like Ajay Bahl‘s B.A. Pass and Prasanna Vithanage‘s With You, Without You (Sri Lanka-India) are to be screened at the 36th Montreal World Film Festival.
B.A Pass, which will compete in First Films World Competition, is the story of 19 year old Mukesh who, after losing his parents in a car accident, lands up in the city of Delhi worrying how to support himself and his two younger sisters. Following this, he stumbles in the world of gigolos.
On the other hand, With You, Without You is one among the World Greats. The film, adapted from a short story The Meek One by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, is a love story that revolves around the consumerist nature of humans.
The Montreal fest, that will screen 432 films from 80 countries, will be held from 23 August to 3 September.
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.
