Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India, December 24 : Ace filmmaker and screenwriter Shyam Benegal, a legend in Indian cinema, passed away on Monday at the age of 90. The filmmaker breathed his last at 6:38 pm at Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai, where he was receiving treatment for chronic kidney disease.
BJP MP and actor Ravi Kishan while speaking toexpressed his grief at Benegal's passing. Speaking on their work together, the 'Laapataa Ladies' actor shared, "It is a personal loss for me. When I was trying to find my identity, he gave me the film Welcome to Sajjanpur... I learnt a lot from him... He was extraordinary... He was dedicated to art... He was the messiah of parallel cinema. He never allowed his cinema to be corrupted by window collections. He was more focused on the message his cinema was giving... I miss him..."
Benegal's films, including Ankur, Nishant, Manthan, and Bhumika, established him as a pioneer of the Indian parallel cinema movement in the 1970s and 1980s. Benegal was honoured with 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 a Konkani-speaking Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin family in Hyderabad, Benegal collaborated extensively with actors from FTII and NSD, including Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, and Amrish Puri.
His films left an indelible impact on audiences, addressing relevant socio-political themes with remarkable depth. His 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. Shot extensively in both countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, the biographical film added another feather to his illustrious cap.
In addition to feature films, Benegal contributed significantly to documentaries and television. His iconic series Bharat Ek Khoj and Samvidhaan remain benchmarks in Indian television.
He also served as the 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).
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