Hindi
Don to Munna Bhai: Ultra Media’s 2025 Report maps OTT viewing trends
MUMBAI: If you thought old Hindi films lived only in memory lanes and Sunday television slots, India’s OTT habits in 2025 tell a very different story. From Amitabh Bachchan’s swaggering Don to Raj Kapoor’s epic Mera Naam Joker and the ever-popular Munna Bhai M.B.B.S, classic cinema enjoyed a remarkable digital revival this year, according to the Ultra Media OTT Insights Report 2025.
Released by Ultra Media and Entertainment Group, the data-driven report offers a revealing snapshot of how Indian audiences streamed films in 2025 and the verdict is clear. Viewers may love the new, but they still have a deep affection for the timeless.
Post-2000 Hindi blockbusters dominated viewing on Ultra Play, emerging as the platform’s biggest drivers of watch time, engagement and completion rates. Close behind were 1990s favourites, which delivered strong repeat viewing, while films from the 1950s to the 1970s continued to command a loyal following.
Among pre-1980 classics, Don, Amar Prem, Bobby, Aradhana and Mera Naam Joker topped the charts, consistently outperforming other catalogue titles. Meanwhile, films from the 1990s and early 2000s such as Munna Bhai M.B.B.S, Andaz Apna Apna, Sarfarosh, Tezaab, Karan Arjun and Ghayal recorded the highest watch time and repeat consumption.
Restoration also proved to be a winning move. Digitally restored titles like Rangeela and Sarfarosh outperformed comparable films, clocking higher-than-expected engagement and completion rates. Other restored gems, including Pyaasa, Half Ticket and Pardes, added further weight to the catalogue.
Perhaps the most striking insight is who is watching. Classic cinema is no longer the preserve of older viewers. Gen Z audiences are discovering legacy films for the first time, turning nostalgia into fresh curiosity rather than simple revisits.
Geographically, metros such as Delhi and Mumbai led consumption, followed by Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Patna. Across regions, audiences showed a clear appetite for post-2000 blockbusters, action thrillers, South Indian dubbed films and Hindi classics.
The platform’s audience skewed young and male, with an 80:20 male-female ratio, and nearly 70 per cent of viewers aged under 44, led by the 18 to 24 age group.
Ultra Play also reported strong business momentum, recording 250 per cent year-on-year growth in 2025. Festive viewing surged nearly 300 per cent, supported by the addition of over 700 new titles.
Ultra Media and Entertainment Group CEO Sushilkumar Agrawal said audiences connect with stories, not eras. When classic films are restored and curated well, they can stand shoulder to shoulder with modern releases, he noted.
COO and director Rajat Agrawal echoed the sentiment, adding that Ultra’s journey from VHS to OTT has always centred on preserving and monetising great stories.
Looking ahead, Ultra expects its subscriber base to cross 500,000 by 2026 and reach one million by 2027, aided by platform upgrades such as improved navigation, offline viewing and enhanced streaming quality.
In 2025, it seems, Indian cinema proved one thing beyond doubt. A good story never goes out of fashion, it just finds a new screen.
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.
