Movies
IFFI 2024: Gullu wins big in 48-hour short filmmaking challenge
tireless yet unforgettable hours – this was the scene at Maquinez Palace today during the closing ceremony of Creative Minds of Tomorrow (CMOT), held in the Fifty fifth International Film Festival of India (IFFI).
CMOT has emerged as a leading platform for discovering and nurturing India’s most promising young filmmakers. This year marked a significant milestone, with the program expanding to include 100 young talents across 13 filmmaking disciplines, a notable increase from the 75 participants and 10 crafts featured in previous editions. The initiative garnered an overwhelming response, receiving nearly 1,070 entries from across India, showcasing their talents in 13 film-related trades.
A highlight of the event was the 48-Hour filmmaking challenge where participants, divided into five teams of 20 members each, created short films centred around the theme “Relationships in the Age of Technology”. The challenge took place from 21-23 November, across 12 locations within a four-kilometer radius of Panjim, which tested the team’s creativity and resilience.
,
This year, the winners of the 48-hour Filmmaking Challenge at CMOT were
1. Best Film: Gullu
Best Film (Runners-up): We Hear the Same Music
2. Best Director: Arshaly Jose (Gullu)
3. Best Script: Adhiraj Bose (Lovepix Subscription)
4. Best Actress: Vishakha Nair (Lovepix Subscription)
5. Best Actor: Pushpendra Kumar (Gullu)
Arshaly Jose, who won the best director award, expressed her gratitude, saying,: “This achievement belongs to my entire team. The script was the true hero of our film, and the moment I read it, I knew we had something special. Working with this exceptional team has been an unforgettable experience.”
The young talents were mentored by the previous year’s CMOT alumni who were invited as CMOT Champions – Chidananda Naik, Akhil Lotlikar, Subarna Dash, Akshita Vohra and Krishna Dusane.
Information and broadcasting ministry secretary Sanjay Jaju said: “To produce such exemplary films within 48 hours under immense pressure is an achievement in itself. Every participant here is a winner.” He further emphasized: “This year, we have dedicated IFFI to legends- of the past and of the future, represented by the youth of our country. Initiatives like CMOT, Film Bazaar, and the Red Carpet provide a gateway for aspiring filmmakers to realize their dreams.”
Actor Amit Sadh, also present at the ceremony, praised IFFI for bringing the film industry’s opportunities directly to young filmmakers and actors from across the nation. The event was graced by several dignitaries, including Neerja Sekhar, special secretary of the ministry of information and broadcasting; Prithul Kumar, joint secretary of broadcasting and MD, NFDC; Vrunda Desai, joint secretary of films, and Apurva Chandra, former secretary of the ministry of I&B. Acclaimed writer and grand jury Member Samrat Chakraborty also attended the event.
As the winners were announced amidst an enthusiastic crowd, Shorts International founder & CEO Carter Pilcher lauded the participants, remarking, “the quality and content of the films produced this year are brilliant and outstanding.”
Organised in collaboration with UK-based network Shorts International, the 48-hour filmmaking challenge offered a unique opportunity for young filmmakers to test their creativity, storytelling skills and teamwork under intense time constraints. Shorts TV also took on the task of the entire pre-production, production and post production of these films at CMOT.
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.
