Hindi
Upen Patel refuses to endorse fairness products
NEW DELHI: Even as Bollywood’s Greek God Hrithik Roshan signed on the dotted line to endorse Emami’s Fair and Handsome face wash brand, actor Upen Patel has joined the list of actors who have refused to endorse fairness products as it encourages racist stereotypes.
Bollywood actors like Akshay Kumar, Ranbir Kapoor, Randeep Hooda, Nandita Das, Bipasha Basu and Kangana Ranaut have previously refused to endorse fairness products.
On the other hand, actors like Shah Rukh Khan, John Abraham, Arjun Rampal, Shahid Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Sonakshi Sinha, Priyanka Chopra and Yami Gautam amongst a host of other actors have no qualms endorsing these products.
A source from the film industry said, “Upen was recently approached by a skin care brand asking him to endorse a skin-lightening product. But apparently, he turned down the brand. He refuses to endorse anything that puts a value or discriminates a person based on his skin colour, taking a stand similar to what Nandita Das had done a few years earlier.”
Confirming the news, Patel said, “This fair skin obsession has to be discouraged. It is so regressive and problematic to put a value, negative or positive to skin colour. It is actually the seeds of racism and only promotes low self-esteem. For me, I believe in loving yourself just the way you are. Dusky, dark or wheatish, you are perfect.”
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.
