Hindi
Viacom18 Studios, Dharma Productions ink four-film distribution deal
Mumbai: Viacom18 Studios on Wednesday announced its partnership with Dharma Productions on four Hindi films meant for theatrical, broadcast, and streaming distribution.
The titles which are part of this deal are in various stages of production and are expected to release over the next 18- 24 months.
“As Viacom18 Studios scales up and begins a new chapter, we are looking at key partnerships with creators who shape mainstream entertainment,” said Viacom18 Studios COO Ajit Andhare. “Collaborating to build a slate of films further strengthens our long-term association with Karan and Dharma Productions.”
The film slate includes Karan Johar’s “Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani” starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt, Raj Mehta’s “Jug Jugg Jeeyo” starring Varun Dhawan, Anil Kapoor and Kiara Advani, Shakun Batra’s next with Deepika Padukone, and Shashank Khaitan’s next directorial venture with Vicky Kaushal and Bhumi Pednekar as part of the cast.
Dharma Productions CEO Apoorva Mehta stated that strategic alliances are the way forward for the film industry and this partnership with Viacom18 Studios is the stepping-stone to a “long-term alliance”.
Karan Johar said this partnership will further enable Dharma productions’ commitment to entertain the film-goers world over. “In Viacom18 Studios and Ajit, we have a partner who not only shares our vision in storytelling but also our approach to differentiated cinema,” he added.
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.
