Hindi
Prime Video’s ‘The Mehta Boys’ dazzles at 15th Chicago South Asian Film Festival premiere
Mumbai: Prime Video’s original movie The Mehta Boys stole the spotlight at the 15th Chicago South Asian Film Festival (CSAFF) with the exclusive world premiere on the opening night of 20 September. The film, which also marks Boman Irani’s directorial debut, received a thunderous applause from a packed audience, for its heartfelt story and stellar performances.
The world premiere was attended by the film’s cast, including actor, writer, director, and producer Boman Irani, along with writer Alexander Dinelaris, actors Avinash Tiwary and Shreya Chaudhry, producer Danesh Irani, and executive producer Ankita Batra. The film received a fantastic response for its portrayal of a father-son relationship, making it relatable for the audience by showcasing the generation gaps and differing perceptions; while providing a perfect blend of humor and heart.
An Irani Movietone LLP and Chalkboard Entertainment LLP production, The Mehta Boys is produced by Boman Irani, Danesh Irani, Vikesh Bhutani, and Shujaat Saudagar. The film tells the story of a father and son at odds with each other, who find themselves compelled to spend 48 hours together. The film follows their tumultuous journey and offers a nuanced exploration of the complexities often inherent in a father-son relationship.
The Mehta Boys is slated to premiere soon on Prime Video in India and across 240 countries and territories worldwide.
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.
