Hindi
Videocon DDB iifa to take place from 4 to 6 July
NEW DELHI: The International Indian Film Academy (iifa) today announced that the 14th iifa celebrations will be held at The Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel, the Official Host Destination Partner. Having travelled to picturesque destinations across the globe over the last 13 years, iifa has graced the shores of the UK, Europe, Middle East, Southeast Asia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and North America. This year, the VIDEOCON DDB iifa Weekend will return to the crown jewel of Cotai Strip Resorts – The Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel, making it one of the fortunate few destinations to host the iifa celebrations twice. The three-day long iifa Weekend and Awards is all set to take place from the 4th to 6th of July.
Consumer-electronics giant Videocon Group continues its partnership, for the fifth year running, with the International Indian Film Academy as the presenting partner of the VIDEOCON DDB iifa WEEKEND at The Venetian Macao. Videocon has chosen to highlight the world‘s only "Digital Direct Broadcast" technology that was launched for the first time one year ago.
Superstar Abhishek Bachchan, ‘Friend of iifa’ spoke about the impending celebrations, saying “iifa is a pioneering initiative that opens new doors and creates myriad opportunities for the film industry, taking it to new shores each year. I experienced the iifa celebrations at The Venetian Macao in 2009 and it was a spectacular 3-day celebration of Indian Cinema. We trust that iifa will plan their celebrations this year befitting the 100 years of our industry.”
Videocon and iifa reiterate the ethos of a platform dedicated to maintaining the highest international standards of excellence through quality, technology and innovation. Speaking on the 5th year of partnering with iifa, Mr Sunil Tandon, CMO – Videocon Group said, “Videocon & IIFA share a common vision to showcase India across the globe. Videocon, India’s No. 1 brand of Consumer Electronics & Home Appliances, driven by the philosophy of innovation & customer centricity is trusted by millions of customers to improve their quality of life, through its wide range of products and highly efficient customer service. Videocon along with DDB are proud to present the Videocon DDB IIFA Weekend which will celebrate the ongoing centenary of Indian Cinema.”
Speaking on IIFA 2013, Brendon Elliott, Vice President of Sales & Resort Marketing, Venetian Macau Limited shared, “The prestigious iifa Awards were last in Macao in 2009, and we are extremely pleased that The Venetian Macao is once again the official host destination partner for the awards ceremony this July. The response to the iifa Awards being in town three years ago was simply enormous, and I have every expectation that it will be just as big and just as enthusiastic this time around. We are also honoured that the Macau Government Tourist Office is once again supporting the awards ceremony at The Venetian.”
Known for its entertainment and metropolitan scene, Macau is an ideal choice for the iifa 2013 celebrations. Macau is home to several of the world’s most sensational and glamorous hotels and casinos. Often dubbed the Las Vegas of Asia, Macau offers a rich variety of experiences for the elite traveller with a penchant for the best, welcoming well over 100,000 visitors from India each year, with more than 150,000 visiting in 2012 alone.
Nachiket Pantvaidya, General Manager, STAR Plus, said, “IIFA is one of the prestigious awards on Indian television. STAR Plus is delighted to present to its viewers a glamourous event against the mesmerising background of the Venetian Macao, a place that redefines grandeur and panache.”
Jacqueline Fernandez, also commented on the occasion saying, “To be a part of the iifa family is a feeling of great pride for anyone who is a part of the Indian Film Industry. iifa has taken Indian Cinema on an unparalleled journey over the last 13 years and it’s a proud moment to see the movement continuing to make impactful strides.”
Sabbas Joseph, Director, Wizcraft & iifa said, “It has been after careful consideration that we have decided to host the VIDEOCON DDB iifa Weekend in Macau. This destination has much to offer by way of culture tourism and The Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel is the perfect choice for this year‘s celebrations. The enormous integrated resort is a like a city in itself and we had an unforgettable experience in 2009 when we celebrated 10 glorious years of the iifa movement. We are glad to be back and we are positive that this year will be more spectacular as we celebrate 100 years of Indian Cinema.”
The first iifa Awards were held at the Millennium Dome in London in 2000 and have gone on to cities like Sun City, Malaysia, Dubai, Amsterdam, Yorkshire, Bangkok, Johannesburg and Colombo among others, with the most recent edition being celebrated in Singapore. As an institution, iifa has committed itself to taking Indian Cinema to the world, through a showcase celebration at international destinations each year. It is a global platform that gives the Indian film fraternity an opportunity to reach audiences in international territories. While India gains greatly from the alliances made via iifa, an important objective of the prestigious brand is to create similar outcomes in its country of host, thereby establishing a system of mutual benefit to both India as well as the host country by way of tourism, culture and trade, cross-border investment and film co-productions.
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.
