Hindi
Joyguru: A cinematic tribute to the inspiring journey of Parvathy Baul!
Mumbai: Indian actor-filmmaker Soumyajit Majumdar’s latest venture, Joyguru, a Hindi feature film, marks a significant step in the global cinema arena. Following the acclaim of his multi-award-winning debut film ‘Homecoming’, Majumdar embarks on a new cinematic journey to narrate the extraordinary life of internationally renowned singer and mystic artist, Parvathy Baul.
Recently announced after Parvathy Baul’s enthralling performance at Times Square during a Bengali New Year celebration, “Joyguru” promises to be a musical odyssey. Largely based on Parvathy Baul’s life, the film captures Radhika Das Baul’s collaboration with Bollywood music director Ritwik on a groundbreaking album of Baul songs transcreated in Hindi. Their unique bond unfolds just before her sudden disappearance from her ashram near Shantiniketan, India.
Parvathy Baul’s artistic legacy extends beyond performance; she is a torchbearer of the Baul tradition, recognized by UNESCO as the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Her spiritual journey, spanning over two decades and forty countries, reflects a commitment to preserving and sharing Baul wisdom.
Set to commence filming in 2025, “Joyguru” stands as the first Indo-UK-USA-France co-production. Renowned cinematographer Ravi Varman will capture the essence of Parvathy Baul’s journey on screen. With backing from Adited Motion Pictures and LOK Arts Collective, alongside co-producers from London and Paris, “Joyguru” boasts a global production team. The film’s narrative traverses Shantiniketan, Kolkata, Vrindavan, and Kerala in India, as well as locations in the UK, USA, and France.
As “Joyguru” gears up for representation at the Cannes Film Festival, it represents a convergence of cultures and a celebration of universal themes. Through captivating storytelling, the film invites audiences worldwide to experience the transformative power of Baul music and philosophy.
Hindi
Remembering Gyan Sahay, the lens behind film, television and advertising
From a puppet rabbit selling poppadums to Hindi cinema, he framed it all.
MUMBAI: There are careers, and then there are canvases. Gyan Sahay, the veteran cinematographer, director, and producer who passed away on 10 March 2026 in Mumbai, had one of the latter. Over several decades in the Indian film and television industry, he turned lenses, lights, and the occasional puppet rabbit into something approaching art.
A graduate of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune, Sahay built his reputation as a director of photography across a career that stretched from the early 1970s all the way to the digital age. He was the kind of craftsman who understood that a well-composed shot is not merely a technical achievement but a quiet act of storytelling.
For most Indians of a certain age, however, Sahay will forever be the man behind the rabbit. His direction of the iconic long-running television commercial for Lijjat Papad, featuring its now-legendary puppet bunny, gave the country one of its most cheerfully persistent advertising images. It was the sort of work that sneaks into the national subconscious and takes up permanent residence.
His big-screen credits as cinematographer include Anokhi Pehchan (1972), Pagli (1974), Pas de Deux (1981), and Hum Farishte Nahin (1988). In 1999, he stepped behind a different kind of camera altogether, making his directorial debut with Sar Ankhon Par, a drama that featured Vikas Bhalla and Shruti Ulfat, with a cameo by Shah Rukh Khan for good measure.
On television, Sahay was particularly prized for his command of multi-camera production setups, a skill that made him a go-to technician for large-scale shows and reality programmes. In an industry that has never been especially patient with complexity, he was the calm hand on the rig.
In later life, Sahay turned teacher. He participated regularly in masterclasses and Digi-Talks, often hosted by organisations such as Bharatiya Chitra Sadhna, sharing hard-won wisdom on cinematography, the comedy of timing in a shot, and the sweeping changes brought by the shift from celluloid to digital. He was also said to have been involved in a project concerning a biographical film on Infosys co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy.
Tributes from the film industry poured in following the news of his passing, with colleagues remembering him as a senior cameraman who served as a rare bridge between two entirely different eras of Indian cinema. That is, perhaps, the finest thing one can say of any craftsman: he kept up, and he brought others along with him.
