Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India, December 24: Ace filmmaker and screenwriter Shyam Benegal, a true legend in Indian cinema, died on Monday at the age of 90. The filmmaker breathed his last at 6:38 pm at Wockhardt Hospital in Mumbai, where he was being treated for chronic kidney disease.
As news of his passing spread, members of the film industry expressed their grief and shared how much he meant to Indian cinema and to them personally.
Veteran actor Raza Murad described Benegal as “a diamond” whose contributions changed Indian filmmaking and also spoke about the iconic films Benegal created.
“We have lost a diamond. In the 1970s, when most movies were about bandits or revenge, a new star of parallel cinema emerged. That star was Shyam Benegal,” said Murad.
Actor-director Ravi Khemu also spoke about the personal loss he felt. Speaking on how Benegal shaped his career, he said, “Shyam ji is no longer with us. This is a huge blow to the film industry and a very personal loss for me. When I first came to Bombay, the only director I worked with was Shyam Benegal. So, when I heard the news yesterday, it felt like the ground beneath my feet had slipped. It’s a great loss for the country.”
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).