Hindi
50% cap on seating to continue for cinema halls till November 30
KOLKATA: As the number of Covid2019 cases is inching towards the 80 lakh mark, preventive measures continue to remain in force. While the ministry of home affairs (MHA) allowed the reopening of cinema halls with limited capacity from 15 October, the 50 per cent cap will be applicable till 30 November.
At the time of announcing unlock 5.0 guidelines, the ministry stated that the movie theatres outside containment zones can open with 50 per cent of their seating capacity. The announcement brought smiles to the faces of stakeholders across the film exhibition industry, who welcomed the decision despite persisting challenges.
Later, the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) shared an extensive list of SOPs for the exhibition industry to abide by to check the spread of Covid2019. The ministry has clearly stated that no exhibition of films shall be allowed in containment zones; film exhibition activities through cinemas/theatres/multiplexes shall be governed as per the prevalent guidelines of ministry of home affairs and ministry of health & family welfare, and further states/UTs may consider proposing additional measures as per their field assessment.
However, not all states have permitted the functioning of theatres and multiplexes. Cinema halls remain closed in states like Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Chhattisgarh. On the other hand, Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh are some of the states where theatres have reopened.
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.
