Hindi
Shah Rukh and Rajnikant go to school
MUMBAI: Out-of-the-box thinking for marketing wizards is de rigueur. But this is one tie-up that is the cherry on the cake. One is not going to be judgemental about it but just salute the clever marketing.
Leading publishers and manufacturers of educational books, Navneet Publications in a unique tie-up collaborated with the South blockbuster Sivaji-the boss. They introduced a new range of long books with exclusive pictures of the film on the covers, a free music CD of the film, a Rajnikant poster and an enclosed secret code which can be used to download a wallpaper of Sivaji onto a cellphone. The value pack is priced at Rs 108.
Brand executive Omkar of Navneet Publications says, “We launched the Sivaji series in last week in Cochin to especially capture the market in the South. The response we have got for this has been very encouraging.”
They have also tied up with Om Shanti Om and school kids will have a Shah Rukh smiling at them from long books, A4 size books and regular size books. This series will feature exclusive pictures of Shah Rukh Khan from the film ‘Om Shanti Om‘ on the cover of the books, together with other exclusive stills from the film.
The books will also have information on the right methods to exercise and general fitness tips. This is especially done in keeping with the new look of the film‘s lead actor – Shah Rukh Khan.
Talking about the tie-up with Red Chillies Navneet Publications VP-Stationery Division Shailendra Gala said,” This is the first time that we have tied up with a Bollywood movie and I am sure that this new range of long books will be as popular as the star of the film! The theme of the film spans over generations and there was an immediate connect with Navneet – our rich legacy over 50 years. We are trying to increase students‘ enthusiasm by launching a range that encompasses the thrill of cinema.”
All the books are made from renewable plantation wood – without cutting of rainforests.
It has been reported that parents and teachers down South are not very happy with these books as they feel that it distracts children.
But this is one book whose cover we are not going to judge.
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.
