Mumbai: Veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal, the pioneer of the parallel cinema movement in Indian cinema in the 1970s and 1980s, was cremated with full state honors and a three-gun salute on Tuesday.
Benegal, known for films like ‘Ankur’, ‘Mandi’, ‘Nishant’ and ‘Junoon’, died at a hospital here on Monday due to chronic kidney disease.
#Watch The mortal remains of veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal were taken to the crematorium in Mumbai. pic.twitter.com/R3x1YUm42h– ANI (@ANI) 24 December 2024
The last rites of the filmmaker, who celebrated his 90th birthday on December 14, were performed at the Shivaji Park crematorium in Dadar around 3 pm.
Benegal’s cinema contemporaries, colleagues and the younger generation of actors and artists along with wife Nira and daughter Pia paid final respects to the icon whose films captured the many realities of India.
Naseeruddin Shah, Rajit Kapoor, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Ila Arun, who acted in many of Benegal’s films, were present to bid farewell to the director.
Actor Ratna Pathak Shah, her son Vivaan Shah, writer-poet Gulzar, director Hansal Mehta, lyricist-writer Javed Akhtar, actors Divya Dutta, Boman Irani, Kunal Kapoor and Anang Desai were also present.
Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, whose Film Heritage Foundation had recently restored Benegal’s 1976 “Manthan” for screening at the Cannes Film Festival, was also present.
Gulzar said that what Benegal brought to cinema was a revolution that would never come again.
“He is not gone, we have gone away from him and bid him farewell. He brought a revolution, he has gone with that revolution of change in cinema. No one else will be able to bring that wave, that revolution once again. We will remember.” “We will keep talking about him for a long time,” Gulzar told PTI.
Actor Shreyas Talpade, who played the lead role in Benegal’s satirical film “Welcome to Sajjanpur”, said that the film was one of his most memorable shooting experiences because of Benegal.
Talpade said, “I was a changed person after returning from the shooting of the film. I think what we will miss most is his words. He used to enthrall us whenever he spoke. It is a huge loss. “
