Hindi
China expected to be principal guest country at IFFI Goa
NEW DELHI: Chinese cinema is expected to be given the pride of place at the International Film Festival of India in Goa in November this year.
This emerged during talks between Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari and Chinese Minister of State Administration for Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television Cai Fuchao.
The two Ministers had delegation level talks covering a wide range of subjects in the Information and Broadcasting sector.
During the discussions, it was proposed to accord the status of Principal Guest Country to China during IFFI 2014. The International Film Festival of India is scheduled to be held from 20 to 30 November. The Chinese side may consider facilitating participation of prominent Chinese films with film personalities in the ‘Competition’ and ‘Cinemas of the World‘ sections of the festival. Both sides could consider cooperation between Film and Television Institutes of the two countries through exchange programmes of students and faculty”, Tewari added.
It was also agreed that a roadmap should be outlined to enhance bilateral cooperation in critical sectors of the Films and Broadcasting. It was reiterated that such a roadmap would enable enhancing people to people contact between the two countries.
During the discussions Tewari and Cai Fuchao were assisted by senior officials belonging to the Information & Broadcasting and SAPPRFT from the Chinese side. Both sides agreed to enhance cooperation and capacity building between personnel of the public broadcasters in both countries, strengthen cultural exchange programmes related to convening of Film Festivals and enhance exchange between the private film industries of both countries.
One of the key highlights of the discussion was the decision to enhance student exchange programme between Film Institutes of India and the Beijing Films School. Both sides agreed that the hosting of the Chinese Film Festival in Delhi was an important step to enhance the role and relevance of films between the people of both countries. Both sides also agreed to work out the modalities for strengthening capacity building of technical personnel of Broadcasting Sector. Another critical area of discussion pertained to exploring the possibility of Co-production agreements between India and China in the audio visual sector.
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.
