SCOOP: Sanjay Dutt asks Rajkumar Santoshi to direct Khalnayak Returns; veteran filmmaker politely declines the offer

On April 24, Sanjay Dutt, Aksha Kamboj, Executive Chairperson of Aspect Global (Aspect Entertainment), Subhash Ghai and Jyoti Deshpande of Jio Studios announced Khalnayak Returns at an event in Mumbai. The intro teaser of Khalnayak Returns was unveiled at this event, and it received a thunderous response. Sanjay Dutt looked dashing, and the use of the iconic Khalnayak theme added to the excitement. Since Subhash Ghai had directed the original Khalnayak (1993), it was widely assumed that the Showman would return to helm Khalnayak Returns as well. Soon, Subhash Ghai confessed that he won’t be donning the director’s hat again. A source told Bollywood Hungama, “Sanjay Dutt was keen that Rajkumar Santoshi should direct Khalnayak Returns. He felt that Raj ji has an understanding of commercial cinema and would be able to do justice. Moreover, the two powerhouse, talented individuals have never worked together. Hence, Sanjay Dutt felt that it would be great to finally join hands with Rajkumar...

‘It has become a sort of silver bullet’: why are rap lyrics being put on trial?

In compelling documentary As We Speak, a controversial legal practice that uses rap lyrics to secure convictions is explored

In September 2001, McKinley Phipps Jr, also known as the rapper Mac, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for manslaughter. It had been a year and a half since gunfire erupted outside a club where he was slated to perform in Slidell, Louisiana, resulting in the death of 19-year-old Barron Victor Jr. Phipps, then 22, maintained his innocence, and the case against him was weak – there was no gun linking him to the crime, several witnesses recanted their testimony and another person confessed to pulling the trigger. And yet, prosecutors had their trump card: Mac, a former New Orleans rap prodigy who began releasing music at the age of 13, had rapped about murder.

“Murder, murder, kill, kill”, Phipps recites in As We Speak: Rap Music on Trial, a new documentary on the criminalization of rap lyrics. Prosecutors spliced that line with one from a different song – “Pull the trigger, put a bullet in your head” – to create the portrait of a killer; Mac’s art was the evidence that DNA, solid confessions, or a missing weapon couldn’t provide. An all-white jury bought it. Phipps served over 21 years in prison before being granted clemency in 2021.

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