Hindi
Indian screen community celebrates cinema on world IP day
MUMBAI: In recognition of innovation and creativity in content industries, the MPDA is partnering with local screen associations and industry bodies to organize events in support of World IP Day, this year designated Movies: A Global Passion.
On April 26, 2014, in association with strategic alliance partner, the Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce (APFCC) and leading multiplex chains across the country, the MPDA launched an online quiz for multiplex staff entitled ‘Be A Movie Cop’. This initiative attempts to raise awareness on the threats and challenges of camcording in cinemas, while rewarding theatre staff with exciting prizes, including a ‘Movie Cop’ badge in recognition of their efforts to curb content theft in their cinemas.
“We are happy to collaborate with the Motion Picture Dist. Association, India and the APFCC on this interactive and educative initiative. Cinema staff are the frontline of defense and need to be equipped with the right understanding and tools to help combat camcording in cinemas,” said Ashish Saksena, Chief Operating Officer, Big Cinemas.
“As the leading multiplex chain in the country, we at INOX take ample measures to curb piracy across all our multiplexes. We are happy to be a part of this initiative of MPDA, India and the APFCC to combat this menace and will continue our efforts to uproot and eradicate this threat out of our industry.” said Daizy Lal, Chief Operating Officer, Inox Leisure Ltd.
On April 26, in celebration of the global passion for movies, the American Center, New Delhi in association with MPDA (India) will host special screenings of three Hollywood blockbuster films – Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Disney – UTV, Noah – Viacom 18 and Rio 2 – Fox Star Studios, India which will also feature an IP quiz. Over 150 guests comprising Government of India officials, the U.S. Embassy and students from various universities will attend the event.
“India and the United States both have diverse and incredibly vibrant film industries,” says Joshua W. Polacheck, Cultural Attache for north India at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, “and we are proud to work together with MPDA, India and our partners across India to promote intellectual property rights. The creative workers in both countries deserve these protections and consumers must understand the very real negative implications of piracy on the cinema we all love.”
MPDA, India will also participate in a conference organized by FICCI’s IPR division in association with the Department of Intellectual Property Office (IPO). The conference on ‘Fostering Innovations and Creativity in Indian Industry through Intellectual Property for Higher Growth Trajectory’ will focus on the role of IP in boosting creativity, the economic impact and challenges of online content protection in a digital economy.
Hollywood and Indian cinema both value films as products of Intellectual Property (IP). Audiences are often unaware of the creative process that goes into creating music, lyrics and screenplays and the value of the talent and skill of technicians, composers, lyricists, editors, producers, cinematographers, sound designers, animators, and creators of special effects.
Cinema is a global passion today and plays a significant role in creating jobs in addition to contributing to the economy of a nation. According to a study commissioned by the Motion Picture Dist. Association, India (MPDA) in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the Film Federation of India (FFI) and the Film and Television Producers Guild of India (FTPGI), the Indian motion picture and television industry is one of the largest and fastest growing sectors, contributing c. USD 8.1 billion (c. INR 50,000 Cr.) to the country’s economy, equating to 0.5% of GDP, in 2013, and supports a significant 1.8 million (18.8 lac) jobs.
“The opportunities to increase potential and growth in this industry would be significant, if content was better protected. Content theft through camcording in cinemas and rogue/ illegitimate websites continues to undermine profits and threatens jobs in our creative industries. As we join our partners on World IP Day to increase awareness and respect for creative works in a digital age, creating a legislative framework that promotes and protects the film industry which supports millions of jobs, while recognizing the challenges of a digital economy is the need of the hour,” said Uday Singh, Managing Director, MPDA, India.
A copy of the Deloitte Economic Contribution of the Indian Motion Picture and Television Industry 2013 full report and infographic summary are available to view and download at www.mpaa-india.org.
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.
