Hindi
Amid pandemic scare, ‘Godzilla vs Kong’ enjoys dream box-office run
NEW DELHI: Adam Wingard's Godzilla vs Kong was one of the most-anticipated films of the year, though with many big-budget movies getting pushed back due to the pandemic, stakeholders were jittery if the monster action flick would come to cinemas. However, the movie had its international theatrical release on 24 March 2021. Amid the Covid2019 scare, the film was warmly welcomed by audiences all across the globe, and viewers praised Legendary Pictures for expanding its 'Monsterverse' with another epic outing.
Godzilla vs Kong creating a storm globally
Even though the film had its international release on 24 March, Godzilla vs Kong hit cinemas in the US on 31 March. On the second weekend, the film topped the US domestic box office by collecting $13.4 million, thus bringing the monster mashup's stateside haul to $69.5 million, an impressive figure in the midst of a global pandemic.
On the first weekend, Godzilla vs Kong collected $32.2 million at the domestic box office. Industry experts consider this figure phenomenal as the film had a simultaneous OTT release on HBO Max.
According to a report published in Reuters, Godzilla vs Kong is now the top-grossing film of the pandemic era, bypassing Christopher Nolan’s science fiction action thriller Tenet, which grossed $58.4 million at the US box office. Ilya Naishuller's action thriller Nobody starring Bob Odenkirk is also enjoying a decent theatrical run, with $15.6 million in collections at the US box office after three weeks of release.
Godzilla vs Kong makes waves at Indian box-office
Even though the country is battling a second Covid wave, Godzilla vs Kong is making bank at the Indian box-office as well. In the initial days of its release, most of the multiplexes in India that screened Godzilla vs Kong recorded an attendance of 30 to 35 per cent. Even though the exact collection figures of the monster movie in India are not available, industry experts reveal that the film is already a profitable venture for distributors.
Elara Capital vice president & research analyst (media & consumer discretionary) Karan Taurani noted that the success of Godzilla vs Kong hints at the fact that audiences will visit theatres to watch movies that demand a theatrical watch.
"OTT releases are the necessity of the current scenario. But at the same time, audiences are not hesitant to visit theatres to enjoy movies that demand a theatrical watch. Consider the example of Godzilla vs Kong. The film which offers a visual extravaganza is enjoying a spectacular run at the Indian box-office. If big movies like these continue hitting the theatres, it will surely revive the exhibition industry in India," said Taurani.
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.
