Hindi
MIIFF to be held in January, launches logo
Mumbai: The first Mumbaindia International Film Festival (MIIFF) will be held in January 2023. There will be six sections from world cinema to Marathi cinema.
The founders of Mumbaindia International Film Festival (MIIFF), Sharon Prabhakar, Sudhir Attavar, Trivikram Belthangady, Sandip Soparrkar and Chaitali Chatterjee launched the spectacular logo of this unique film festival. In a grand event held at the Cinepolis in Mumbai, its founders revealed many interesting things about the film festival. Veteran actor Om Puri’s wife Nandita Puri and actress Shazahn Padamsee were also present at the event.
Sharon Prabhakar said, “People might say that there are many film festivals, so what is the need to do this, but I do not think about it. You should try your best to fulfill your dream. I go against the routine work, and this is one such festival which will be different, unique and exciting. We women are multi-taskers.”
Sudhir Attavar said, “We have kept 6 sections in this film festival. The first category is of world cinema, the second category is of the LGBTQIA community and another category is of women filmmakers. There is a category for a film institute. The fifth category will be for ad films and the sixth category will be for Marathi cinema. There will also be a section for dance and music based films. The first MIIFF will be held in Mumbai in January 2023. Registration for it will start from July 2022.
The founder of the film festival Sudhir Attavar said, “The festival is not being done to earn money. There will be neither politics nor commercial angle in this meaningful festival.”
Dancer-choreographer Sandip Soparkar said, “I express my sincere gratitude for making me a part of this festival. When I came to Mumbai 22 years ago, the next day I went to visit the temple of Mumba Devi and I told her that this city has been named after you, when will such a day come when I will be able to associate with your name. And today after 22 years I am very happy to be associated with Mumba India International Film Festival. We will promote culture through cinema.”
Trivikram Belthangady said, “When Sudhir ji and Sharon asked me to join this festival, I immediately agreed, because it is filled with creative energy. Through this festival, the audience will get to see meaningful cinema. Doors will also be opened for new filmmakers. I am very excited about this journey.”
Chaitali Chatterjee also expressed her heartfelt thanks.
Ompuri’s wife Nandita Puri said, “My heartfelt congratulations to the entire team for organizing this festival. Sharon is my great friend, I am also her fan, she is my favorite and an amazing woman. I have seen issues behind film festivals, we will keep Mumba India International Film Festival away from politics or lobbying.”
Shazahn Padamsee, who has acted in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films, said, “Everyone has worked hard for this festival. My mom Sharon has given her heart and soul to this festival.”
Krishna Bhardwaj, Ratna Pratap and Vidyadhar Shetty also extended their best wishes here. Vidyadhar Shetty of Success Films organized the event.
Sharon Prabhakar added, “People are passionate about filmmaking and some have even sold their houses to make a good film. This festival is for such passionate makers. We will try to do something better, new and different through this.”
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.
