Movies
Panorama Studios seals long-term Malayalam distribution pact with Century Films
MUMBAI: Panorama Studios has struck a long-term distribution partnership with Century Films to release its entire slate of Malayalam films, sharpening its push into the southern Indian market and betting on deeper theatrical penetration in Kerala.
The alliance begins with Anomie, starring Rehman and Bhavana, slated for a 30 January theatrical release. It will be followed by Tikitaka, featuring Asif Ali, and Production No 3, starring Kunchacko Boban and Lijomol Jose. Under the agreement, Century Films will handle statewide distribution, leveraging its entrenched exhibitor network to maximise reach and box-office performance.
Century Films, led by producer MC Phillip, widely known as Century Kochumon, is regarded as a formidable force in Kerala’s theatrical ecosystem, with strong ties to exhibitors, theatre owners and local stakeholders. Panorama said this grassroots strength was central to the partnership.
Panorama Studios chairman Kumar Mangat Pathak, said the collaboration would help ensure the company’s Malayalam films reach audiences in Kerala with greater scale and authenticity. Century Kochumon described the tie-up as a natural progression, adding that it would strengthen the presentation of Malayalam cinema across the state.
The deal follows Panorama Studios International’s recent collaboration with actor-producer Nivin Pauly to develop a slate of Malayalam features with a cumulative budget of Rs 100 crore. Panorama’s broader portfolio includes Omkara, Pyaar Ka Punchnama, Drishyam, Raid and Shaitaan, with Drishyam 3 currently in the works.
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.
