Hindi
Gritty stories depicting the realities of the entertainment industry
Mumbai: Many films and shows have depicted the reality of showbiz. Some have romanticised the allure of cinema and the glamour world while others have depicted the heartbreak and disillusion that the industry inflicts upon strugglers. Here are a few such narratives that don’t gloss over the gritty realities strugglers have to face in the city of dreams.
Heroine: Kareena Kapoor stars in a role that brings back memories of many top actors who shimmered brightly for a while but could not sustain success or find lasting personal happiness. Directed, written, and co-produced by Madhur Bhandarkar, the film also dwells upon gender politics, the role of yellow journalism, publicity gimmicks, and ageism in the industry. It also depicts how veteran actors are mistreated on sets and the way the market value of stars changes on the basis of their last release. It also stars Arjun Rampal, Randeep Hooda, Shahana Goswami, Raqesh Bapat, Divya Dutta, Helen, Mugdha Godse, and Lillete Dubey in supporting roles. Watch it on Apple TV.
Bombay Babes (Season 1 and 2): This iTap winner directed by Ashish Bhatia, revolves around a few young women who hope to make it big in Mumbai but then their dream auditions turn into nightmares. And their plans to carve a niche in the frenzied metro are derailed by predatorial men. How these women then join forces to avenge themselves and protect each other makes for a riveting watch. This Hindi web series stars Ruby Bharaj, Navneet Kaur, Surabhi Tiwari, Kanika Gupta and Shipra Dwivedi as the lead characters of Angel, Jenny, Dolly, Farzeen, and Sandi respectively. The show is an engrossing story of empowerment and self-discovery and is available on iTap.
Fashion: Meghna, a small-town girl loses herself in the race to become the face of a top fashion brand on the city’s tallest hoarding. She becomes the most sought-after model, trades love for success and soon loses her footing when she realises that fame is ephemeral and everyone is dispensable in the world of glamour. How she finds her own authentic self after losing everything is both a cautionary tale and a story of hope. This Madhur Bhandarkar directorial starred Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut and Mugdha Godse in lead roles, with Arjan Bajwa, Samir Soni and Arbaaz Khan. You can stream it on Netflix.
Jubilee: This period drama created and directed by Vikramaditya Motwane reimagines the birth of the star system in pre and post-independence India through the events in Roy Talkies, a place where ambitious fame seekers flock to realise their dreams of stardom. The show stars Prosenjit Chatterjee, Aparshakti Khurana, Sidhant Gupta, Aditi Rao Hydari, Wamiqa Gabbi and Ram Kapoor and begins with the search for a new actor who will be named ‘Madan Kumar’. In the race to be anointed as the new discovery of Roy Talkies, Binod, a projector boy does the unthinkable and becomes an unlikely star. Watch it on Amazon Prime.
Luck by Chance: ‘Luck by Chance’, Zoya Akhtar’s directorial debut stars Farhan Akhtar as Vikram Jaisingh, a ruthlessly ambitious actor who lives with her disapproving aunt in Mumbai and hopes to make it big one day. A chance meeting with Neena (Dimple Kapadia), a once-famous actress leads to an audition for a solo lead in a big production and he manipulates a rival to bag the role. He then betrays his girlfriend and aspiring actor Sona (Konkona Sen Sharma) and begins a relationship with his co-star. However, when success arrives, he realises that it alone cannot bring happiness. Glittering with guest stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bachchan and Akshaye Khanna, the film also starred Rishi Kapoor, Isha Sharvani, and Juhi Chawla. You can watch it on Netflix.
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.
