Sanjay Dutt is back as Balaram Prasad. Nearly over three decades after Khal Nayak became a cult favourite, the actor on Friday announced a sequel to his 1993 action-crime drama, which starred him alongside Madhuri Dixit.
Sharing a first-look poster from the film on Instagram, Dutt wrote, “Har kahaani ka ek waqt hota hai…aur uska waqt aa gaya hai. ‘Khalnayak Returns’.”
A one-minute-10-second-long video introduces Dutt returning as Khal Nayak. The clip shows Dutt making his way through a trail of dead and injured opponents after a brutal fight, dragging a chain along the floor. He then sits down, calmly lights a cigarette using blood from the ground to spark the flame, and declares that he is back—not as a Nayak, but as a Khal Nayak.
Directed and produced by Subhash Ghai, Khal Nayak released in theatres on August 6, 1993. Dutt played the anti-hero Ballu in the film alongside Jackie Shroff as police officer Ram and Madhuri Dixit as undercover cop Ganga.
During a special event of the film in Mumbai, Dutt revealed that the idea to continue the story of Khalnayak came to him while he was serving his jail sentence in connection with the 1993 Mumbai blasts.
“In jail, I asked everyone around me -- who will be interested to watch it. And the 4,000 inmates said they all would. I asked all of them to write one page about it (new ‘Khalnayak’ story) and it took me a while to read all the 4,000 pages,” Dutt said.
“When I came out on parole, I asked Subhash sir to go through it. After that, he said it should be made,” Dutt added.
“The journey of Khalnayak has been long and without Subhash ji it wouldn’t have been possible. He is a legend and the man of entertainment. He will be part of this ‘Khalnayak’,” Dutt further said.
Three Dimension Motion Pictures, led by Dutt, has teamed up with producer Aksha Kamboj’s Aspect Entertainment to acquire the sequel rights to the iconic action-crime film from filmmaker Subhash Ghai and his banner Mukta Arts.
“The journey of ‘Khalnayak’ has been long and without Subhash ji it wouldn’t have been possible. He is a legend and the man of entertainment. He will be part of this ‘Khalnayak’,” Dutt said during an event of the film in Mumbai.
Dutt and Aksha Kamboj have brought on board Jyoti Deshpande of Jio Studios to take charge of the project’s creative direction.
Further details regarding the film's cast, format and release date are kept under wraps.
Dutt was last seen in Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar: The Revenge alongside Ranveer Singh.
Dutt also has Abhijeet Mohan Warang’s Aakhri Sawal in the pipeline.