Hindi
JINX by Mansha Totla to represent India at Venice’s Reply AI Festival
Mumbai: Filmmaker and producer Mansha Totla has achieved a milestone with her short documentary film, JINX, which has been selected as a finalist in the top 12 at the Reply AI Film Festival in Venice, Italy. The festival, known for its focus on storytelling through AI technology, received over 5,000 submissions from filmmakers worldwide. JINX will be the only film representing India as a finalist.
JINX explores the true story of a 90-year-old Holocaust escapee, Jinx Akerkar. The film highlights the fragility of life and the importance of trusting one’s intuition. It is a dedication to the lives lost during the war and those who may still suffer because of it.
To authentically represent World War II, Mansha created war footage from scratch using AI technology, setting a new benchmark for integrating AI in documentary filmmaking.
Mansha has also been invited to walk the red carpet at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, alongside Hollywood celebrities including Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, and Jenna Ortega.
Reflecting on her selection, Mansha said, “It is an honour to have my film ‘JINX’ recognized at a platform that champions innovative storytelling and technology. My goal was to tell a story that resonates with people and leaves them with a positive feeling. Using AI for the first time and blending history with technology has been a significant step, and I am thrilled that my efforts have resonated with the festival’s jury. Representing India and premiering my film in Venice is a dream come true, and I am excited to share JINX with the world soon.”
Mansha’s selection as a finalist at the Reply AI Film Festival marks a significant moment in her career and for Indian cinema, as she continues to explore new dimensions in storytelling.
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.
