Movies
7th Advantage India Short Film Contest organized by Pocket Films, calls for entries
MUMBAI: Pocket Films has organized a short film contest, 7th Advantage India in association with River to River Florence Indian Film Festival, Italy. With a promise to be bigger and better like every year, 7th Advantage India Short Film contest is calling for entries from young budding film makers as well as professional filmmakers.
Organized with an aim to uplift the filmmakers and give them the ‘center stage’ in the film industry by recognizing their talent internationally, the contest has carved its name in the industry through its initiative taken for short filmmakers.
7th Advantage India organized by Pocket Films will render a lot of opportunities to filmmakers to show up their talent in filmmaking. It opens the doors for the 3 winning films to reach out to audiences and other festivals in Europe through screening at River to River and as promised 7th Advantage India is back this time to take the film makers a step closer to their dreams.
The 3 winning films will be broadcast on the show ‘Prime Talkies with Pocket Films’ on NDTV Prime, getting a national audience.
Further, Pocket Films is proud to present the first ever ‘India Chapter of the River To River, Florence Indian Film Festival’ in Mumbai in March 2015. All the winning films of the festival (not just Advantage India) will be screened at this event to be held at Blue Frog.
The film entries will be judged by esteemed jury members like Film maker, Nagesh Kukunoor, Director of River to River, Florence Indian Film Festival, Selvaggia Velo and Specializer in casting, film programming and Academic research, and Editor of Film India Worldwide ‘Uma Da Cunha.
According to Saameer Mody, Managing Director, Pocket films, “7th Advantage India is an initiative by Pocket films which is aimed to showcase the talent to respected professionals and veteran film directors from the industry. We aim to be at the forefront of these exciting, challenging and transformative times by giving alternate content and its creators the exposure and acclaim they deserve.”
By organizing such contests, especially in association with respected International Film Festivals, Pocket Films provides a fantastic platform for filmmakers to show case their talent not only domestically but worldwide.
River to River is the only festival in Italy that is totally devoted to films from and about India. This year will be its 14th edition, starting from 6 to 12 December in Florence and 13-14 December in Rome, under the direction of Selvaggia Velo and the Patronage of the Embassy of India.
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.
