Hindi
Special preview screening of ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ for Indian Armed Forces
MUMBAI: Viacom 18 Media and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, in association with UFO Moviez have announced exclusive preview screenings of the eagerly awaited biopic Bhaag Milkha Bhaag in all UFO digital Defence theatres across India, a day ahead of the film‘s nationwide theatrical release.
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Starring Farhan Akhtar and Sonam Kapoor, and directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is a film about the revered athlete Milkha Singh‘s perseverance as a sportsperson and also as a courageous human spirit.
While the theatrical release of the film is scheduled for 12 July, the exclusive premiere for Indian Defence Personnel and their families will be held at 8.00 pm on 11 July, in UFO‘s digital Defence theatres across India.
“Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is a tribute to a national hero. It was because of the Indian Army that Milkha Singh‘s talent was discovered and nurtured. Viacom18 Motion Pictures is privileged and proud to premiere the film for the armed forces across India a day before its commercial release. It‘s our humble way of saying ‘we salute you‘”, said Viacom18 Motion Pictures marketing and operations head Rudrarup Datta.
The Defense spokesperson of Chandimandir Army Cantonment in Chandigarh added, “The special screenings of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is a positive step by Viacom18 and UFO towards entertaining our troops. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, with its message of resilience of spirit, body and mind, promises to be an extremely interesting film to watch, as will be the chance for the defence personnel to meet with the star cast of the film along with Shri Milkha Singh.”
Speaking on the occasion, UFO Moviez joint MD Kapil Agarwal said, “The Defence Forces are our nation‘s pride and the specially organised premiere of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is our way of paying tribute to the brave soldiers who safeguard our nation. We are very happy to partner with Viacom 18 Media and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra for such an initiative. It is a matter of personal pride for all UFOrians that our digital cinema services and solutions have helped entertain Indian Armed Forces personnel across the length and breadth of India, round the year and in all weather conditions.”
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.
