Hindi
Book on film journalism bags Bhartendu Harishchandra prize for promotion of Hindi
NEW DELHI: Shyam Mathur will receive the first prize in the “Journalism and Mass Communication” category for his manuscript “Film Patrakarita Ke Vividh Aayam” in the Bhartendu Harishchandra awards for 2006.
Harshdev has bagged the second prize for his book “Samayik Media Shabdkosh” and the third prize has gone to Sita Ram Khodawal for his manuscript “Hindi Jansanchar Aur Premchand Ka Jaagran Manch”.
Twelve books/manuscripts have been selected by the Jury for the awards which will be given away by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Anand Sharma on 6 January in the capital.
Murli Manohar Manjul for his book “Akashvani ki Antarkatha”, Narendra Singh Yadav for “Graphic Design”, Dr Smita Mishra and Dr Amar Nath ‘Amar‘ for their jointly written book “Electronic Media: Badalte Aayam”, Prabhu Jhingran “Sachitra Media Shabdawali” and Dhananjai Chopra for his book “Sirf Samachar” have been chosen for consolation prizes.
The first prize is of Rs 35000, second prize is Rs 25000, third prize is Rs. 20000 and consolation prizes are of Rs 5000 each in this category.
In the ‘Women Issues‘ category, the first prize has been given to Anamika for her book “Man Manjhne Ki Zaroorat” and the second prize goes to Lata Sharma for her book “Aurat Apne Liye”.
In ‘Children‘s Literature‘, the first prize goes to Rama Shankar for his book “Antariksh Ka Swapnil Lok” and the second prize to Harish Kumar ‘Amit‘ for his manuscript “Imandari Ka Swad”. For these two categories, the first prize consists of Rs 15000 and the second prize is of Rs 10000 each.
Interestingly, no book or manuscript has been recommended by the jury in the ‘National Integration‘ category.
Bhartendu Harishchandra Awards were instituted in 1983. Since then, these Awards are given by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting every year to promote original writings in Hindi in the field of Journalism and Mass Communication. Awards for National Integration, Women Issues & Children‘s Literature were introduced in 1992.
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.
