Legendary film director, Shyam Benegal passes away, aged 90. The ‘Don’ of New Indian Cinema has left a huge legacy and canon of work that speaks a lot about the changing India…
By Suman Bhuchar
THE DIRECTOR SHYAM BENEGAL passed away on December 23 from chronic kidney disease but only last week on December 14 celebrated his 90th birthday surrounded by his actors whom he had worked with across decades.
directly behind standing (Shabana Azmi X) 90th birthday celebrations
Azmi appeared in his first directorial feature, ‘Ankur’ (released 1974) and she won the Best Actress performance for her role as Lakshmi – the servant woman who is seduced by the landlord’s son. (The film is based on a true story in Hyderabad in the 1950s). It received the National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film, as well as Best Actress for Azmi and Best Actor for her co-star, Sadhu Meher in 1975.
Azmi has spoken in the past about how Benegal used to ask her to sit on her haunches on the floor in the kitchen and eat while the rest of the cast eat at table – in order to keep in character.
‘Ankur’ was at the Berlin Film Festival (see picture) and was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 1974 (24th Berlinale) where Uma Da Cunha was a programme adviser. She was too upset to talk to www.asianculturevulture.com but gave permission for this rare image to be shared.
Many other admirers of Benegal, including actor and casting director, Dolly Thakore and theatre director Neelam Mansingh expressed their thoughts on social media mourning the loss of a giant figure who was knowledgeable about many subjects and always had time for people as well as championing their work.
Azmi later appeared in several of his other films, including ‘Nishant’ (1975), ‘Junoon’ (1978) ‘Mandi’ (1983) and ‘Antarnaad’ (1991).
‘Nishant’ (or ‘Night’s End’) marked the debut of actor, Naseeruddin Shah, who played Vishwam, a younger brother of a land-owner whose eye falls on Azmi’s character, Sushila – who played the school master’s wife. She doesn’t reciprocate and this doesn’t end well.
Shah who wrote in his memoir ‘And Then One Day’ (2014) about when he was a student at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune, the then director, Girish Karnad recommended him to Benegal, who he went to visit to audition for the role. He arrived early and scruffy at his home in Bombay (as it was known as then), but Benegal was his immaculate self and the two hit it off. The rest, is history, as Shah worked with him on several other films, including ‘Junoon’ (1979), ‘Mandi’ (1983) and ‘Trikal’ (1985).
at The Berlinale in 1974 (courtesy of Uma Da Cunha)
These early films of Benegal discuss the working class oppressed by the feudal or landed classes and were lauded for their authenticity, regional accents and realistic approach.
The films presented a social commentary and contributed to growing the nascent ‘New Indian Cinema’ movement (later also called Parallel Cinema).
“In its early years Parallel Cinema enjoyed limited commercial success.
“It was the films of Shyam Benegal, specifically his 1970s uprising trilogy – ‘Ankur’ (1974), ‘Nishant’ (1975) and ‘The Churning’ (1976) – that would break through to audiences in cinema halls,” said Dr Omar Ahmed, a film scholar & international curator of South Asian Cinema, who considers Benegal to be among five of Indian Parallel Cinema’s essential directors. (https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/indian-parallel-cinema-essential-directors).
Benegal’s film, ‘The Churning’ (‘Manthan’) was remastered and shown in Cannes in May 2024 and the London Film Festival in October 2024.
“This potent, political landmark of Indian independent filmmaking – famously funded by 500,000 farmers – explores the ugly truths of class and caste in rural Gujarat,” said the London Film Festival.
Another of his seminal films is ‘Bhumika’ (‘The Role’ – 1977). This is an autobiographical story of Marathi actress Hansa Wadekar – played by the late and great Smita Patil). It was shown at the National Film Theatre (now the BFI Southbank) as part of the New Indian Cinema festival in September 1982.
In an introduction piece written in the programme brochure of the time, programmer Ken Wlaschin noted: “Perhaps the single most influential director to emerge, however, was Shyam Benegal working from Bombay, the heart of the old commercial Hindi cinema. Not only did he produce films that were artistic and commercial, he also helped to encourage a new group of actors and technicians who then worked with other new directors.”
Wlaschin continued: “From his films emerged ‘stars’ as Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri and Anant Nag, the brilliant cameraman, Govind Nihalani who became a director, and writer-actor, Girish Karnad, who also became a director. “
Benegal was born in Tirumalagiri, formerly known as Trimulgherry, Hyderabad and he made his first film aged 12 when his dad Sridhar B. Benegal gave him a camera. He was a cousin of Guru Dutt.
posters of his film – courtesy LMJ
In an interview at the BFI Southbank, with film historian, documentary maker and founder of South Asian Cinema Foundation, Lalit Mohan Joshi, Benegal says Dutt was his aunt’s son — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_WTFNBVD9I.
The interview was conducted in 2012 when Benegal was given the Excellence in Cinema award by the organisation.
Joshi, who first began corresponding with Benegal as a student whilst at University of Allahabad, after seeing his film ‘Ankur’, revealed that Benegal became a mentor.
“I found him to be a very compassionate man. He was an all-encompassing versatile film-maker who never stuck to one type of film.”
Joshi was instrumental in organising a retrospective of Benegal’s work at the Birmingham International Film & TV festival in 1995.
According to IMDB Benegal made over 75 films across five decades. He began in advertising, then making short films before moving on to his social realist cinema work.
He also found the Hyderabad Film Society, was director of the National Film Development Corporation (1980-1986) and served as chairman of FTII twice (1980-1983 and then 1989-1992) and also was a Rajya Sabha member (2006-2012).
He is married to Nira Mukerji Benegal, and the couple have a daughter, Pia who works as a costume designer in film.
Over the decades his work continued to evolve in style and approach and some of his other work include his trilogy on Muslim women in India: ‘Mammo’ (1994), ‘Sardari Begum’ (1996) and ‘Zubeidaa’ (2001) – all scripted by Khalid Mohammed.
Cary Sawhney, executive and programme director of the London Indian Film Festival first met Benegal when was a programme adviser for BFI London Film Festival in Kerala, at premiere of Bengal’s film ‘Making of The Mahatma’ (1996) which was presented at the London Film Festival.
This was followed by several of his other films, of which the comedy ‘Welcome to Sajjanpur’ (2008) was perhaps an audience favourite, said Sawhney.
Benegal received many awards over his lifetime including the highest Indian cinema Award – the Dada Saheb Phalke award in 2005 for his Overall Contribution to Indian Cinema.
His last film was a biographical work on the founding father of Bangladesh – ‘Mujib: The Making of a Nation’ (2023).
Sawhney said: “One of the greats of Indian cinema has left us. His impact on Indian cinema, especially independent cinema is significant.
“To me, he was an exemplary renaissance human being and in his works highlighted the plights of struggling Indian people be they farmers and other workers, or the struggles of women. I even noted that he had championed LGBTQIA+ in parliament long before equality laws. He was a man of his times and perhaps, much needed of this time.”
Shyam Benegal, filmmaker, born December 14 1934 – December 23 2024, aged 90.
