Hindi
Why Padmaavat in 3D almost didn’t happen
Fans can’t stop raving about the 3D version of Padmaavat and how it drew them right into the world of Queen Padmavati. However, it is a little known fact that director Sanjay Leela Bhansali had long been considering the idea of releasing his films in 3D. “We wanted to try 3D with Guzaarish and we’d also tested a few shots for Bajirao Mastani which looked fantastic but it eventually didn’t happen,” shared DoP Sudeep Chatterjee.
The splendid colour grading and stereo conversion services for Padmaavat were handed over to Prime Focus World (PFW). Jimmy Philip, PFW Stereo Supervisor worked closely with Padmaavat’s DoP – Sudeep Chatterjee and Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali to deliver the 3D version of the magnum opus.
Sudeep also went on to reveal how Padmaavat in 3D almost didn’t happen. He said, “Padmaavat in 3D was always an idea but it was only sometime in July-August when we got a nod for 3D conversion. Although a major apprehension was that there was very less time and we weren’t sure if we’d be able to pull it off. There are many things that can go wrong during 3D conversion – ideas can shift, dimensions can shift, with one character appearing bigger than the other. So naturally, a lot of work was put into the conversion of the film.”
Sharing details about the behind-the-scenes efforts that went into making the 3D version a reality,
PFW Stereo Supervisor, Jimmy Philip said, “There are lots of 3D moments in this scene, with floating embers, dust drifting across the battlefield and arrows flying towards camera – it’s a great sequence and a fittingly dramatic climax for the film. We leveraged our extensive elements library to recreate most of these FX elements, while also carrying out additional comping to enhance the overall effect.”
Talking about the enormity of the task, Jimmy shared, “Over 2000 stereo shots that we delivered for the movie were completed in a tight timeframe of just 2 months.”
As they say, hard-work always pays and Padmaavat emerged strong amidst controversies to give the audiences an unforgettable visual treat.
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.
