Hindi
Buzz before the box office IMDb maps India’s most awaited films of 2026
MUMBAI: Anticipation, it seems, has its own opening weekend. Long before the first trailer drops or tickets go on sale, film fans are already voting with their clicks, and IMDb’s newly released list of the Most Anticipated Indian Movies of 2026 shows exactly where the excitement is building.
According to IMDb, the rankings are based on actual page views from more than 250 million monthly users worldwide, offering a rare, data-led snapshot of what audiences are most eager to watch. Topping the list is King, marking Shah Rukh Khan’s return to the big screen after nearly three years and a much-awaited reunion with director Siddharth Anand. Close behind is Ramayana Part 1, followed by Jana Nayagan, underlining how scale, mythology and star power continue to drive early buzz.
The top 20 list reflects India’s increasingly multilingual cinema appetite, spanning five languages. Hindi dominates with 10 titles, while Telugu claims five spots, Tamil three, and Malayalam and Kannada feature one film each. Beyond the top three, titles such as Spirit, Toxic and Battle of Galwan suggest audiences are gravitating towards intense dramas, action-heavy spectacles and real-world inspired narratives.
Star power clearly plays a role in sustaining curiosity. Several actors appear multiple times on the list, including Nayanthara, Yash, Sunny Deol, Prabhas, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Triptii Dimri. Their repeat presence hints at how fan loyalty often follows performers as much as projects.
Sequels and cinematic universes are another clear trend. Dhurandhar 2 and Border 2 tap into nostalgia, while films like Alpha, Benz and Shakti Shalini expand established cinematic universes, signalling that franchise storytelling remains a powerful draw.
While release dates and box-office fortunes will only unfold in time, IMDb’s list shows one thing clearly. In 2026, audience curiosity is already running high, and in an industry where attention is the first currency, these films are winning the race long before the lights dim in theatres.
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.
