Mumbai:
Veteran director and screenwriter Shyam Benegal, often considered one of the most influential filmmakers in Indian cinema, has passed away at the age of 90, leaving behind an irreplaceable legacy.
Shyam Benegal breathed his last at 6:38 pm today at Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai Central, where he was undergoing treatment for chronic kidney disease.
His films, including ‘N‘Kur’, ‘Nishant’, ‘Manthan’‘, And ‘Role‘, established him as a pioneer of the Indian parallel cinema movement in the 1970s and 1980s. Benegal has been awarded the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi seven times and received the V Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.
Born on December 14, 1934 in Hyderabad into a Konkani-speaking Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin family, Benegal collaborated extensively with FTII and NSD actors, including Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Amrish Puri. .
Addressing relevant socio-political themes with remarkable depth, his films left a lasting impact on audiences. For example, ‘Passion‘(1979), based on Ruskin Bond’s A Flight of Pigeons, is a tumultuous epic set during India’s independence movement. The film, featuring a forbidden love story between a British woman (Nafisa Ali) and a passionate Pathan (Shashi Kapoor), is one of Benegal’s finest works, celebrated for its sweeping visuals and emotional intensity. .
Similarly, ‘seventh horse of the sun‘ (1992), based on the novel by Dharamvir Bharti, presents a unique narrative structure in which a bachelor (Rajit Kapoor) narrates the stories of three women from different social strata who influenced his life. Each character was unique and symbolized the diverse fabric of society.
Benegal also explored intersectional feminism long before it became mainstream discourse. his film’Role‘, inspired by the memoirs of Marathi actor Hansa Wadkar, is based on themes of personal identity, feminism and relationship conflicts. ,Market‘ (1983), another landmark, offers a satirical commentary on prostitution and politics, portraying the brothel’s struggle against social and political pressures.
His films were also appreciated at the international level. ,churn‘ (1976), inspired by Verghese Kurien’s pioneering milk cooperative movement, became a global hit and was screened at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. The film’s premiere was attended by stalwarts like Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Prateik Babbar and members of the Kurian and Patil families.
Benegal’s most recent project,’Mujib: The Making of a Nation‘ (2023), was an India-Bangladesh co-production depicting the life of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh. The biographical film, shot extensively in both the countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, added another feather to his cap.
Apart from feature films, Benegal also made significant contributions to documentaries and television. His iconic series’india a discovery‘ And ‘Constitution‘Remains a benchmark in Indian television. He also served as Director of the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) from 1980 to 1986 and was a member of prestigious juries including the 14th Moscow International Film Festival (1985) and the 35th National Film Awards (1988).
Throughout his career, Benegal has received numerous awards, including the Padma Shri, the Padma Bhushan, and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s highest honor in cinema.
Shyam Benegal’s contribution to Indian and world cinema will continue to inspire generations to come.
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