Critically acclaimed, publicly loved Indian filmmaker Shyam Benegal passed away on the 23rd of December, 2024, in Mumbai. The legend, who is often regarded as the pioneer of New Indian Cinema or Parallel Cinema, was 90 and had been battling a chronic kidney condition for some years now. He was admitted to the ICU at Wockhardt Hospital Mumbai Central, where he breathed his last. He is survived by his wife Nira Benegal and daughter Pia Benegal.
Shyam Benegal’s early career
One of the best filmmakers that the country has seen, Shyam Benegal’s first stint was with advertising. Born to Sridhar B. Benegal, a prominent name in photography, Shyam Benegal made his first short at the tender age of 12 on a camera gifted to him by his father. Post his MA in Economics at Osmania University in Hyderabad, where he also established The Hyderabad Film Society, Benegal took up a copywriting gig at Lintas in Mumbai. With a keen eye for detail and storytelling, soon he rose to be the creative head at the prestigious advertising agency. As an advertising honcho, he directed over 900 sponsored documentaries and advertising films.
Shyam Benegal’s tryst with films
Even while working as the creative head, Shyam Benegal had started dipping his toes in filmmaking, with his first being Gher Betha Ganga, a Gujarati documentary he made in 1962. This was followed by Close To Nature, and A Child Of The Streets. During this time, he also taught at the Film And Television Institute Of India, Pune. The majority of Shyam Benegal movies during this time were with the Films Division Of India, till he ventured into feature films with his first, Ankur (1972).
Launching Shabana Azmi, an FTII alum, with Anant Nag, an actor who was beautifully transitioning from theatre to parallel cinema, Shyam Benegal’s Ankur remains one of the most iconic films in Indian cinema. It went on to win three National Awards, and many others both nationally and internationally. It was also nominated for the Golden Bear at the 24th Berlin International Film Festival.
Shyam Benegal’s best works
Nishant (1975)
Written by Vijay Tendulkar and Satyadev Dubey, Nishant explores the theme of the power of the rural elite and the sexual exploitation of women, during the time of feudalism in Telangana. Starring Girish Karnad, Shabana Azmi, Anant Nag, and Amrish Puri, this Shyam Benegal film also introduced Naseeruddin Shah and Smita Patil. The film won the 1977 National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi and was also selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival. It was also awarded the Golden Plaque at the Chicago International Film Festival of 1977.
Manthan (1976)
Loosely based on the life of Verghese Kurien, the pioneer of the milk cooperative movement, this Shyam Benegal film was the first crowdfunded Indian project. Starring Girish Karnad, Smita Patil, and Naseeruddin Shah, Manthan won the 1977 National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi, and Vijay Tendulkar, who wrote the screenplay won the National Film Award for Best Screenplay. This Shyam Benegal film was also India's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1976.
Earlier this year, a 4K restored version of Manthan was also screened at Cannes Film Festival 2024.
Mandi (1983)
Based on an Urdu story Aanandi by writer Ghulam Abbas, Mandi is a satirical comedy that narrates the story of sex workers at a brothel in Hyderabad, its residents, and politicians’ greed about the land it is on. Starring Smita Patil, Neena Gupta, Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Saeed Jaffrey, Annu Kapoor, Satish Kaushik, Pankaj Kapur, Amrish Puri, Ila Arun and K. K. Raina, this is another of Shyam Benegal movies that won many accolades. It is in fact the highest number of Filmfare award winners for a Hindi film ever.
Bharat Ek Khoj (1988-89)
Made for Doordarshan, this series by Shyam Benegal was 53-episode-long historical drama based on the book The Discovery of India by Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. Production-wise, it was a great feat covering the 5000 years of Indian history, and 144 sets were made by the production designer Nitish Roy with assistants Samir Chanda and Nitin Desai. The stellar cast for this series included Om Puri, Roshan Seth, Tom Alter and Sadashiv Amrapurkar.
Honestly, this list can go and on, for he was a class in filmmaking, and Shyam Benegal’s death is a jolt that cinema lovers will take quite a while to recover from. Just days before Shyam Benegal’s death, on his 90th birthday, his peers had gathered to celebrate the filmmaker, who was in between 3 stories, finalizing what he wanted to make next. His last production was the biopic of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman named Mujib: The Making of a Nation, which released in 2023.