Hindi
Big Cinemas opens its first theatre in Coimbatore
MUMBAI: Big Cinemas, part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and entertainment conglomerate Adlabs Films, has opened its first cinema in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.
This has been done after the transformation of KG Cinema into KG BIG Cinema after architectural and technical renovation.
Big Cinemas had tied up with KG Cinemas in April 2008. The cinema has been non-operational from August due to the refurbishment. With four screens and a total capacity of 2325 seats, the multiplex is designed to assure utmost cinematic comforts and services.
According to Tushar Dhingra, COO of Big Cinemas: “Our focus has been to constantly innovate and provide a world class movie experience. We have received a favourable response from the KG BIG Cinemas’ moviegoers previously and are keen on increasing their enthusiasm.”
The refurbished KG Big Cinemas is now equipped with air-conditioned auditoriums, plush push back seats, floor lights, and hygienic washrooms. KG Big Cinemas will raise the bar of cinematic experience forever in Coimbatore.
While maintaining the original charm of the building, the cinema has also been refurbished with digital sound systems and superior Xenon projection systems in order to provide an international cinematic experience. For easy procurement of tickets, KG Big Cinemas has increased the number of Box Office counters, and also offers for the first time Internet booking options.
“Coimbatore is considered to be the Manchester of South India with a booming textile sector, engineering hub and plans for major IT players to start operations in the city. We are excited to see that our locations have transformed into destinations for guests who want to view movies in the most powerful format. We also see immense potential for this property thanks to its strategic location at Bungalow Road , Race Course,” added Dhingra.
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.
