Hindi
Zee Classic to air Dharmendra movies from 5-9 December
MUMBAI: The he-man’s fans are in for a sweet surprise next week.
It was in 1958, a dashing young man from Punjab queued up in Mumbai for a talent hunt. Amidst the host of aspiring faces, his effortless flamboyance was unmatchable. Producer Arjun Hingorani spotted the talent and thus began the journey of the evergreen, Dharmendra.
Zee Classic, with its brand promise of Woh Zamana Kare Deewana, celebrates the legend’s 81st birthday with a week-long festival titled ‘Dashing Dharmendra’, from 5 to 9 December, Monday to Friday, at 10am.
The festival kicks off with superhit action drama ‘Ram Balram’ on 5 December also starring Amitabh Bachchan. Directed by Vijay Anand, this film has Dharmendra playing a smuggler stirring up the world of black market which brings him to a collision with his long lost brother, a cop. Next in line follows ‘Katilon Ke Katil’ on 6 December starring Dharmendra with Rishi Kapoor. Based on a mother’s equation with her two sons, this film was directed and produced by Arjun Hingorani who was fixated with casting Dharmendra in all his ventures.
The line-up continues with ‘Raaj Tilak’ on 7 December. An ensemble cast including Sunil Dutt, Raj Kumar, Pran, Hema Malini and Kamaal Hassan, Dharmendra played a royal heir fighting for his throne in this epic period drama. ‘Sultanat’, starring father-son duo Dharmendra and Sunny Deol airs next on 8 December. Their first outing together, Dharmendra is pitted against his own son here, both plotting to kill each other for revenge. Concluding the festival on 9 December airs ‘Zalzala’, an action drama. Here, Dharmendra plays a commoner in search of a hidden treasure also hunted by a host of villains.
Once referred to as the most good looking man on showbiz, Dharmendra has portrayed every conceivable role in every imaginable genre in his career spanning over five decades. Such was the inimitable charm of this gentleman. An ardent fan of his, actress Jaya Bachchan once said “Dharmendra was God to me and he still is.” Zee Classic wishes him a wonderful Birthday and a long life ahead.
|
Date |
Day |
Time |
Movie |
|
5th December |
Monday |
10:00 AM |
RAM BALRAM |
|
6th December |
Tuesday |
10:00 AM |
KATILON KE KATIL |
|
7th December |
Wednesday |
10:00 AM |
RAAJ TILAK |
|
8th December |
Thursday |
10:00 AM |
SULTANAT |
|
9th December |
Friday |
10:00 AM |
ZALZALA |
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.
