Hindi
1700 films received on ending violence against women film contest
NEW DELHI: Around 1700 entries from over 600 colleges have come in response to a campaign launchged earlier this year for two-minute films on generating debate and promote positive change in cultural and social norms around the value of women in India.
The campaign ‘#BasAbBahutHogaya – Enough is enough’ was launched by actor Farhan Akhtar along with Population Foundation of India, Farhan Akhtar’s MARD and noted director Feroz Abbas Khan with a pledge to end violence against women and girls.
The shortlisted films will be judged by a high profile jury comprising Padma Shree Dr. Kiran Karnik, director Shekhar Kapur, actor Shabana Azmi and Feroz Abbas Khan.
“When we announced the film-making contest, we feared that the students will speak only of the issues which are covered by the mainline media. However, there are many more aspects to the issue of violence against women and girls. The students surprised us with their take on even the minutest and not-spoken-of issues. The varied topics covered by all the participants are a proof of the fact that they realize what is happening around them and are willing to change it for the better”, said Population Foundation of India ED Poonam Muttreja.
Noted director Feroz Abbas Khan said, “We have received an overwhelming response from students across the country. With almost 1700 entries and an unending zeal, the younger generation just proves that they are ready to turn the patriarchal system of India upside down with their new-age take on this issue.”
The film-making contest is a part of Bas Ab Bahut Ho Gaya- Enough is Enough, a campaign that aims at generating debate and promote positive change in cultural and social norms around the value of women in India.
National celebrities have joined this campaign to relay messages that motivate young girls to stand up against violence, and show boys that masculinity is not connected with violence. Apart from the films, there will be several activities including panel discussions and a series of films about violence against women. The campaign will culminate in a concert in Mumbai.
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.
