Hindi
SPN to replicate Anil & Arjun Kapoor’s real life relationship in ‘Mubarakan’
MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks Productions (SPNP), a division of Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN), has announced their next film titled Mubarakan. In a casting coup of sorts, SPNP has roped in the real life chacha- bhatija Anil Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor for this film. The duo will replicate the same camaraderie that they share in real life on screen too.
The film also stars Ileana D’Cruz, Athiya Shetty, Amrita Singh amongst others.
Mubarakan is a laugh riot with confusions galore, laughter, love, egos and emotions.
“We are very excited to embark on our journey for Mubarakan. From drama to horror to slice of life cinema and now comedy, we aim to present content that engages, evokes and entertains our audiences. I am certain that Mubarakan will be one of the most anticipated movies of 2017 and we look forward to receiving the same overwhelming support like we have in our previous movies”, said SPNP Dy president and head Sneha Rajani.
This family comedy will be directed by Anees Bazmee and is produced by SPNP and Ashwin Varde and Murad Khetani’s Cine1 Studios. The film has been written by Balli Januja and Rupinder Chahal and is all set to go on the floors by November 2016. It is slated for a 28 July 2017 release.
Bazmee said, “Mubarakan is one of the best scripts I’ve come across in recent times. That’s what attracted me to it primarily. The highlight of the film will be Anil Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor coming together for the first time on screen. The madness of the script along with the fantastic ensemble cast, we are all set to create something that will be unparalleled.”
Bazmee has to its credit an array of movies directed by him like last film Welcome Back, Ready, etc.
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.
