Word on the film street is that Bollywood superstar Sanjay Dutt, who has been having a fantastic box office run post the pandemic, has major plans for his home production—Three Dimension Motion Pictures, under the supervision of his wife, Maanayata Dutt, who will shuttle between Dubai and Mumbai to regularly take part in key decisions.
The new production office of Three Dimension is located close to Yash Raj Films Studios, Andheri, Mumbai. After acquiring the rights of Subhash Ghai’s Khalnayak (1993), Sanju is now neck-deep in finalising a director for Khalnayak Returns.
In April this year, at the poster reveal of this film, Maanayata Dutt, Jio Studios, and Aksha Kamboj, wife of hotshot realty developer and entrepreneur Mohit Kamboj Bharatiya, showed up on stage as partners on this project.
Bollywood superstar Sanjay Dutt |
Following the buzz this announcement created, Sanju is also “seriously planning” on acquiring rights of some of his other iconic films. While no director has been locked to direct Khalnayak Returns, we have learnt from an insider that Sanju is sitting with his wish list of directors’ names, pondering on “who will be the best maker to fill Subhash Ghai’s shoes.” Ghai will serve as creative producer.
At the meeting held with Subhash Ghai, where the first talks of buying the remake rights of Khalnayak from Mukta Arts were conducted, the hit-maker of films like Ram Lakhan, Karma and Saudagar apparently told Dutt and his close associates that, since he is pushing 80, he will take a backseat and serve only as creative producer. Later, to members of the media, the bespectacled octogenarian maker begged off, saying he couldn’t remake his own film.
So Sanju and his partners decided to seek Ghai’s blessings, but they also decided to get themselves a different director for the reimagined version of the 1993 film that defined Sanju in many ways, especially back in the day, when he found himself on the other side of the law in real life too. Besides Khalnayak, Sanjay Dutt and Maanayata Dutt are also keen to buy the rights of Sanju’s Vaastav: The Reality (1999), an action-thriller directed by Mahesh Manjrekar.
Sanjay Dutt & Maanayata Dut |
Online reports say that the film, reportedly made at a budget of Rs 7.50 crore in the 90s, not only doubled its return at the box office but also went on to earn approximately Rs 20 crore and acquired a ‘cult’ status. A member of Dutt’s team confirmed, “Sanju Sir is very close to Vaastav. He got the Filmfare and IIFA trophies for Best Actor in 2000, and he is particularly keen to see how best to revisit this film.”
The Free Press Journal has learnt that plans are fluid at this point, but remaking Vaastav is definitely on Sanju’s agenda.
