Sanjay Dutt announces the sequel to his 1993 runaway hit with Tiger Shroff even as filmmaker Subhash Ghai asserts he hasn't parted with the film's rights
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; September 20, 2019)

Sanjay Dutt is displaying an ambitious streak with his recently launched production house, Sanjay S Dutt Productions. Even as the first Hindi movie from the stable — Prassthanam — hits screens today, the star has set the ball rolling on his next offering. Dutt, who was in Dubai on September 18 to promote the political drama, confirmed to the media there that he has begun the groundwork on the sequel to Khalnayak (1993). Considering the Subhash Ghai-directed crime thriller remains one of Dutt's most memorable films, one can imagine his enthusiasm to take the story forward.

Says a trade source, "Khalnayak revolved around the attempt of the police squad — led by Jackie Shroff's character Ram — to capture the criminal, Ballu, played by Dutt. Buzz is, the sequel will kick off with Ballu coming out of prison after having served his sentence and meeting Ram's son. While Sanju will reprise his role, he stated that he has reached out to Tiger Shroff for a pivotal part in the film. It is a wise idea to have Tiger play the role of Ram's son considering Jackie played the honest police officer in the first instalment."

Promising as it all sounds, the glitch is that Dutt has yet to acquire the film's rights from Ghai. The source adds, "Several directors have expressed interest in remaking or creating a sequel to Khalnayak. But Ghai hasn't parted with the rights. While negotiating the transfer of rights, the director has often expressed his desire to have creative control over the remakes. It is said to be one of the reasons why his Ram Lakhan deal with Rohit Shetty fell through. It is yet to be seen if Ghai relents in this case."

When mid-day reached out to Ghai, he said, "Sanjay Dutt and few other producers have approached us, but we have not sold the rights of the sequel of Khalnayak to anyone yet. "

Meanwhile, the spokesperson from Sanjay S Dutt Productions confirmed that they had initiated talks with the filmmaker. "We are hoping to acquire the rights. The cast and director will be decided only after that."