Hindi
Eros to release English Vinglish on 21 September
MUMBAI: Eros International Media Ltd is gearing up to release R. Balki’s Sri Devi-starrer, English Vinglish, worldwide on 21 September.
A slice of life film, English Vinglish explores the impact of not knowing the English language in everyday life. The film, directed by debutante Gauri Shinde (Balki’s wife), marks the comeback of Sridevi after a 14-year sabbatical.
Eros International Media Ltd managing director Sunil Lulla said, “With English Vinglish, we are excited for Sridevi’s return to acting and with Balki and Gauri at the helm. We believe there’s a lot of anticipation around the film.”
In the film, Sridevi plays the central role of a housewife, who enrolls for an English speaking course in order to please her husband and family.
“Sridevi is such a natural and was the perfect choice for this role. Not knowing English in our country is a big deal. Three things differentiate people here — fame, money and the knowledge of English. The film deals with her insecurities and how she shows the world that speaking the language isn’t a big deal. I am pleased to tie-up with Eros International who will present this film on a global platform,” said Balki.
The film also features French actor Mehdi Nebbou, Adil Hussain and Priya Anand. Amitabh Bachchan makes a guest appearance.
A trilingual, the film has been shot in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.
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.
