Hindi
Local organizations or states cannot ban film certified by CBFC, Tewari
NEW DELHI: The central government reiterated in Parliament today that a local organization cannot ban a film if it has a problem with the content of that film and has to approach the Central Board for Film Certification in redressal.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari stressed that state governments have the power to regulate cinemas under Constitution‘s entry 33 in List II, subject to the exclusive power of the Central Government for certification (entry 60, List I).
Referring to cases where films had been banned or held up by state governments, Tewari said the film ‘Viswaroopam‘ was not banned but delayed by executive orders under section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code in Tamil Nadu. In 2011, the film ‘Dam 999‘ was banned by Tamil Nadu while ‘Aarakshan‘ was banned in Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
The Minister said Article 19(2) of the Constitution provides for reasonable restrictions imposed by Law on the freedom of speech and expression.
The exclusive power of certifying films for public screening rests with the Central Board of Film Certification as mandated by the Cinematograph Act, 1952.
Executive orders of State Governments, at times, also orders issued under various State laws relating to Cinema made under Entry 33, List II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India, regulate public screening.
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.
