Hindi
‘Mary Kom’ declared tax-free in Maharashtra
MUMBAI: National Award winning actress Priyanka Chopra’s much-awaited movie Mary Kom has been declared tax free in Maharashtra a week before its scheduled release date.
“Yay! #MaryKom declared tax free in Maharashtra a week before release! Amazing!! #Sept5,” Priyanka posted on Twitter.
The movie is a biopic on the five-time World Champion boxer Mary Kom and is slated to release on Teacher’s Day 5 September. It has been produced by filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and directed by Omung Kumar.
The biopic on Mary Kom has been in the limelight ever since the first look was launched. The trailer received an overwhelming response and has recently received ‘U’ certificate from the censor board.
The biopic narrates the journey of Mary Kom who gave up her sporting career when it was at its peak to enjoy the pleasures of motherhood. But after giving birth to two children, she made her comeback in the ring and went on to make history.
Feeling ecstatic about the news, Chopra said, “It is wonderful news. We have a compelling story to tell of a strong, determined woman who has made the nation proud. It is our tribute to all the unsung sports people who give so much to see the Indian flag flying high. If this can act as a catalyst of hope for them, then it’s something we can all be proud of.”
“We are grateful to Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat and government of Maharashtra for lending their support to the film. This exemption right from release day will allow large segments of society to experience the spirit of magnificent Mary,” said Viacom18 Motion Pictures COO Ajit Andhare.
While Bhansali’s spokesperson said that the tax free status will encourage audience to recognise and support the spirit of the film.
Recently, various state governments granted tax exemption to Rani Mukherji starrer Mardaani based on the issue of child trafficking in India.
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.
