Hindi
Changes in archaic Cinematograph Act can be expected soon
MUMBAI: Aptly titled, “Cuts So Deep: Are We Sacrificing Creativity at the Altar of Morality?”, one of the sessions on the first day of FICCI Frames 2014 spoke about those ‘cuts’ in the films that leave a deep mark in the memory of the filmmakers. Most of the times, these cuts suggested by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) doesn’t even make sense to the people who were involved creatively in the making of the film.
The debate, in the presence of esteemed guests like Sudhir Mishra, Ramesh Sippy, Ravi Kottarakara, Kajol and the newly appointed CEO of CBFC Rakesh Kumar, highlighted many issues that filmmakers are grappling with because of the guidelines stated in the archaic Cinematograph Act of 1952.
However, the film industry is pinning its hopes on the new government for amendments to the Cinematograph Act.
At the session, the filmwallahs brought to the fore how the guidelines push them back by many years by not giving them the freedom that’s actually their right.
“When a director shoots a scene, he envisions it in a certain way. If there’s a smoking scene, an atmosphere is created with that. When it is cut, the shot loses its charm,” remarked Mishra while putting across an example.
Another major issue discussed was that of a scroll on the frame showing smoking, sex scenes etc for which filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has even gone to the court and the matter is still pending in the court.
Another point that came up during the discussion was of giving ‘A’ certificate to certain films based on real issues that need to be promoted all across, while some films just because they come from ‘bigger’ banners are passed with U or U/A even when they have ‘bold’ scenes.
To deal with all this, a committee headed by Justic Mukul Mudgal is travelling across the country to take suggestions from the film fraternity across India, the audiences and all the other stakeholders involved.
While Rakesh Kumar from CBFC was left in a fix with complex questions being posed to him, Film and TV Producers Guild of India CEO Kulmeet Makkar came to his rescue by stating that the industry needs to be patient for a little more time. “Since the revised guidelines have already been formed, we may expect things to change pretty soon,” said Makkar, also revealing that 18 of the suggestions discussed in Chennai have already been accepted.
It seems the film industry can soon hope for better days ahead.
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.
