Hindi
Two new anti-Tobacco health spots for ‘Tobacco-Free Film Rules’ released under COTPA
NEW DELHI: Two new anti-tobacco spots titled ‘Child’ and ‘Dhuan’ have been released by the Health Ministry to be screened on movies and television whenever smoking scenes are depicted, even as studies have shown very little effect of government’s attempts to prevent smoking scenes.
The spots have been released under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act (COTPA) rules and will be effective from today. These spots have been dubbed in 16 Indian languages for a pan India coverage. It is mandatory for cinema halls to prominently display these spots whenever smoking scenes are shown as part of the movie. These spots were released to media by Health Ministry Additional Secretary C K Mishra.
Interestingly, studies undertaken by the Ministry in collaboration with the World Health Organisation after the promulgation of “The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act” (COTPA) shows that while 76 per cent films were depicting tobacco use in 2003, this had increased to 89 per cent in 2006.
Similarly, the percentage of the lead character shown smoking had gone up from 40.9 per cent to 75.5 per cent in these years, of the films which showed tobacco scenes. Tobacco brands/product placement and visibility also rose from 15.7 per cent to 41 per cent between 2003 and 2006.
In 2003 before COTPA was enforced, the Ministry with the support of World Health Organization commissioned the study titled “Bollywood: Victim or Ally” to help develop a strategy to reduce smoking in films. The aim of the study was to understand the extent to which movies impact youth’s lifestyles and the impact of portrayal of tobacco in Indian films
In 2006, after COTPA 2003 banned tobacco advertisements of any kind, another study was commissioned to document changes in tobacco imagery in films.
The anti-tobacco health spots and disclaimers are being provided by the Ministry under the COTPA Rules. Two spots ‘Mukesh’ and ‘Sponge’ depicting harmful effect of usage of smokeless and smoking forms of tobacco were used with effect from 2 October 2012.
Speaking at the media launch of the two new spots, Mishra said since 2 October 2013 marks the completion of five years of implementation of smoke-free laws in India, the launch of these two spots, ‘Child’ and ‘Dhuan’, reinforces the government’s emphasis on the issue of secondhand smoke and implementation of smoke-free policies in India. While the narrative at present is more on control on smoking, the Ministry will soon move towards the smokeless form of tobacco. He said that the ban on ‘gutka’ was a major achievement in the direction of banning the use of tobacco in the country.
‘Child’ and ‘Dhuan’ have been developed to warn about the health costs of smoking and second hand smoke and of the penalties to be faced by violating the smoke free law. ‘Child’ focuses on the health risks of smoking and secondhand smoke, while ‘Dhuan’ especially models the behavior expected of business managers, advocates, enforcement officials, smokers and non-smokers. The spots have been developed by World Lung Foundation (WLF).
COTPA was aimed at regulating consumption, production, supply and distribution of tobacco products, by imposing restrictions on advertisement, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products; prohibiting smoking in public places; prohibiting sale to and by minors, prohibiting sale within a radius of 100 yards of educational institutions and through mandatory depiction of specified pictorial health warnings on all tobacco product packs.
Section 5 of COTPA prohibits all forms of advertisements, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products.
The 2006 study clearly established that tobacco imagery, including brand display had markedly increased in the wake of tobacco advertising bans in other media. Consequently, COTPA’s rules were refined in 2005 to meet the challenge of tobacco imagery in films. However, these rules could only be implemented from 2 October, 2012 after addressing all the implementation concerns of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.
As per the Rules all films and TV programmes certified/produced on or after 2 October, 2012 that depict tobacco product or its use must have a strong editorial justification explaining the necessity of display of tobacco products or its use (to the Central Board of Film Certification); anti-Tobacco Health Spot of 30 seconds duration each (beginning and middle); anti-Tobacco Audio Visual Disclaimer of 20 seconds duration each (beginning and middle); anti-Tobacco Health Warning as a prominent static message during the period of display of tobacco products or their use.
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.
