Hindi
Zee Cinema presents the World Television Premiere of the gripping Mangalavaar
Mumbai: When suspense and adrenaline are in harmony, it creates cutting-edge entertainment for the audience and ‘Mangalavaar’ is an accurate representation of that. Directed by Ajay Bhupathi, who is known for his powerful storytelling, this movie brings a fresh and intense plot line to the screen, blending captivating elements intriguingly. Zee Cinema fuels your family’s watch list with the World Television Premiere of the highly acclaimed and thrilling ‘Mangalavaar’, starring the amazing Payal Rajput, Nanditha Swetha, Ajay Ghosh in pivotal roles on this Friday, 9 August at 8 PM.
Payal Rajput – “As an actor, working on ‘Mangalavaar’ has been an incredible journey. The story is compelling, and the entire team has put in a tremendous effort to bring it to life. I remember experiencing chills when Director Ajay Bhupathi Sir was narrating the story. Filming for this project was difficult but I was clear in my mind that I am going to give it my all. I’m excited for the audience to experience this film and hope they connect with it as much as we did while making it.”
Ajay Bhupathi – “As someone from a small village, the night backdrop of fields and barren lands always scared me. Since becoming a director, I’ve wanted to make a film set at night so when the idea for Mangalavaar came to me, my film’s backdrop was perfect. The film is set in a village where crazy incidents occur every Tuesday. It’s an engaging narrative and the dedication of the cast and crew has been extraordinary. Reuniting with Payal after RX 100 for this thriller was exciting. We’ve poured our hearts into this film, and I believe the audience will feel that passion. The story resonates on many levels, and I can’t wait for everyone to see it”.
The gripping tale of ‘Mangalavaar’ is a cinematic gem that’s like a maze of intrigue! The plot’s twists and turns are nothing short of awe-inspiring, that will keep the audience hooked from start to finish. Its storyline is based on revelations unfolding a tale of deaths occurring in a village every Tuesday. The film offers something for everyone, blending thrilling adventures with thought-provoking themes of faith, relationships, and morality, all set within a mystical and enchanting atmosphere.
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.
