Hindi
Film tourism convention ‘Locations’ attracts delegates from 10+ countries
NEW DELHI: The fourth edition of the annual film tourism convention IIFTC Locations Show 2016 will take place in three locations – Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai – this month.
Organized by the Film Federation of India, the IIFTC Locations Show will to take place in Chennai on 23 February at Crowne Plaza Hotel, in Hyderabad on 25 February at Radisson Blu Plaza and in Mumbai at JW Marriott, Juhu on 27 February.
According to a study conducted by Mercury Integrated Marketing Services, more than 200 Indian film are shot abroad in over 50 countries around the world every year.
IIFTC Locations Show promises to be a grand affair with participation from various Asian, African and European countries vying to garner a larger slice of this ever increasingly foreign shoots market in India.
IIFTC Locations Show 2016 will see participation from some exotic countries such as Kenya, Namibia, South Africa (KwaZulu Natal), Fiji, Spain, Germany, Sri Lanka and Thailand among others.
FFI secretary general Supran Sen said, “Our filmmakers are constantly looking for new and exotic destinations to shoot. At IIFTC Locations Show, FFI will gather the most prodigious Indian film makers and studios under one roof to meet the visiting delegations of tourism and cultural ministries from various countries and states.”
IIFTC director Harshad Bhagwat added, “Films have been one of the most vital motivations for putting a destination on a travel itinerary. Films provide many positive impacts for the destination in terms of economic and cultural value, brand awareness and positive image building. With IIFTC, we aim to create conducive environment for Locations Scouting for creative industries in India as well as a credible B2B platform for film induced tourism promotion.”
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.
