Hindi
UTV to produce India’s first 3D dance musical
MUMBAI: UTV Motion Pictures will be producing India‘s first 3D dance musical. Titled ABCD (AnyBody Can Dance), the film will be directed by ace choreographer Remo Fernandes.
India‘s best choreographers and dancers of the last few decades – Prabhu Deva and Ganesh Acharya – play key characters in the film. It also stars hit reality dancing show Dance India Dance winners like Salman Khan, Dharmesh, Prince, Mayuresh and Vrushali, all of whom will essay central characters.
Lauren Gottlieb, the global winner of the popular television talent shop ‘So You Think You Can Dance’, will play the heroine in the film.
UTV Motion Pictures CEO Siddharth Roy Kapur said, “We are thrilled to kick off one of our most exciting projects to date, ABCD (AnyBody Can Dance), India‘s first ever 3D dance musical. It has always been our endeavour to bring audiences movies that are different from the tried and tested, and with ABCD we believe we‘re pushing the boundaries of innovative content.”
The film is scheduled to release by the end of 2012.
Will Remo be good enough as a director? “Remo has proven to everyone that he is not only a sensational choreographer but also a director who knows the pulse of today‘s audience. He‘s the best choice to direct a film based on dance, and with Prabhu Deva (who is also directing Rowdy Rathore for us), Ganesh Acharya and other leading lights from India‘s dance fraternity in the cast, ABCD promises to be a total paisa-vasool family entertainer,” said Kapur.
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.
