Hindi
Neil Nitin Mukesh to play a cop’s role in ‘Dussehra’
MUMBAI: Neil Nitin Mukesh, who played the role of a retro gangster in his previous film, will be seen essaying the role of an IPS officer in his forth coming film ‘Dussehra‘.
Starring opposite Mukesh is actress Tena Desae who plays the role of senior IPS Officer. This is the first time for both Neil Nitin Mukesh and Tena Desae will be playing the role of a police.
An excited Neil says, “It‘s a very unique storyline and am thrilled to be a part of this film. Ever since I heard the story line, I have ardently been researching life of bureaucrats, to give more depth to my character in the film. I have the utmost respect for our Indian Bureaucrats.”
Dussehra is a political thriller based on a true story of crime and politics. It is a story of a genuine cop who gets stuck in adverse circumstances. The film evolves from the backdrop of a politically destabilised state.
Dussehra, which goes on floor on 11 March, is being produced by Aparna Hoshing under the banner of Rash Productions, and is being directed by Manish Vatsalya, whose previous work includes ‘Jeena Hai toh Thok Daal‘ under Rash Productions. It is slated for release this Dussehra.
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.
