Hindi
Viacom18 blocks Force 2 across 1250 websites; gets interim order from Madras HC
MUMBAI: Viacom18 has secured a John Doe interim order from Madras High Court restricting more than 1250 identified and all other unidentified websites from making the infringing copies of Viacom18’s latest release i.e ‘Force2’ available for public viewing over internet.
In the said order, the Court has further directed 40 major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and also other unidentified ISPs to block all such pirate websites which are illegally making the said film available over internet.
Viacom18 group general counsel Sujeet Jain said, “I welcome this order from the Hon’ble Madras High Court. It is estimated that India loses $2.5 billion to online movie piracy every year. With increased penetration of technology and internet in India, piracy through online distribution is expected to continue to be a major source of revenue leakage for the movie industry. This order is a significant development for the film industry in its fight against online piracy. As immediate next steps, we’ve also launched an investigation into identifying the source of piracy at the threshold level and we will be soon taking strict action on that front. “
Viacom18 had earlier successfully secured John Doe orders against infringement of its films Drishyam and ‘Manjhi – The Mountain Man’ as well. In the current scenario the High Court in certain states are directing injunction against URLs only which according to many filmmakers is ineffective as URLs are easily mirrored and new URLs pop up in no time. The John Doe Order for Force 2 blocking access to the entire pirate websites should therefore be a relief and aid to filmmakers across country in their war against piracy.
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.
