Hindi
And the trend reverses
MUMBAI: When Priyanka Chopra chose to romance the superhero in Krrish (India‘s answer to Superman and Batman) it was a risk well-taken. Now she has gone a step further by agreeing to play the superheroine in the animated version of Virgin comics.
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A relatively new entrant in the business of publishing, Virgin Comics is redefining comics and animation using India-themed content. Based in Bangalore, it is a creative collaboration of writer Deepak Chopra, Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and Richard Branson. Aimed at creating a new wave of global comic entertainment, Virgin has titles like Ramayan 3392 AD, Devi, The Sadhu and now Priyanka‘s untitled version.
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Priyanka‘s story will launch as a comic book first and then in animation and games. What is interesting is the trend reversal. Earlier comic books turned into movies (Superman, Batman, Robin) whereas now celluloid actors become comic book heroes. Incidentally, Hollywood folklore has it that screen appearances of Superman jinxes the actors associated with it. Christopher Lee was paralyzed, George Reeves shot himself.
It was way back in the eighties when many comic books took inspiration from the then reigning superhero Amitabh Bachchan. He was the first pink-clad Supremo in Indrajaal comics. This was then more driven by reader needs than by content. The series flopped though it had writer Gulzar as content consultant.
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On television there was Shaktiman played by Mukesh Khanna. The TV serial CID‘s timeless characters had also come alive on the comic books as well. But the superhero who hit big time was Hrithik in Krrish, our homegrown superhero.
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Back home, post Hum Tum, which had comic characters in their own animated sequences in the film, the comic book hero is making his presence felt. With Roadside Romeo, the forthcoming animated film where Saif and Kareena have lent their voices to dogs for the first time, the trend continues.
Written and directed by Jugal Hansraj, who is an actor himself, the film is co-produced by Yash Raj films and Walt Disney Studios. The Indian comic book industry is poised for a transformation and as it goes in for a global outlook it bids adieu to the traditional comic book heroes. The smarter, yuppier avatar of the new-age comic book superhero is hip and more reader-friendly. Geared at attracting the right target audience, the new superheroes may soon garner a strong fan base. And as Bollywood actors are moving in for the kill, the market will soon be flooded with more.
Move over Catwoman, Supergirl as our desi wonder woman makes her entry. And she may do much better than her Hollywood counterpart – because she can also sing and dance.
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.
