NEW DELHI (AP) — Shyam Benegal, a famend Indian filmmaker identified for pioneering a cinema motion that tackled social points within the Nineteen Seventies, has died after persistent kidney illness. He was 90.
His contribution to cinema was acknowledged as a director, editor and screenwriter. He got here into the limelight with movies — Ankur (1974), Nishant (1975), Manthan (1976) and Bhumika (1977) — that challenged mainstream Bollywood by coping with the social realities of a poor nation.
Benegal died Monday at Mumbai’s Wockhardt Hospital, and his cremation will happen on Tuesday, the Press Belief of India information company reported, citing his daughter Piya.
“Benegal had been affected by persistent kidney illness for a number of years but it surely had gotten very unhealthy,” Piya stated.
Many paid tribute to the filmmaker on social media platform X.
Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt wrote that Benegal advised tales with out pretense. “They have been uncooked and actual, concerning the struggles of extraordinary individuals. His movies had craft and conviction.”
“Deeply saddened by the passing of Shyam Benegal, whose storytelling had a profound impression on Indian cinema. His works will proceed to be admired by individuals from totally different walks of life,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted.
Benegal was a mentor to high Indian actors together with Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri who made their mark in Bollywood’s well-liked cinema as properly.
“I’ve misplaced my foster father, a person to whom I owe greater than I can say,” Shah posted.
“Shyam Benegal was not only a legend; he was a visionary who redefined storytelling and impressed generations,” stated actor Manoj Bajpayee.
The movie Ankur explored the feudal divide in India, whereas Manthan was based mostly on the story of the nation’s cooperative dairy milk motion.
Benegal additionally was broadly identified for “Bharat Ek Khoj,” a landmark 53-episode tv collection based mostly on the e-book “Discovery of India,” written by India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. It chronicled the nation’s troubled passages, from historic occasions to modernity.
He additionally directed a 2023 biopic on Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who led Bangladesh’s freedom wrestle in opposition to Pakistan within the Nineteen Seventies. Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India in August following a scholar motion, is the daughter of Rahman.
Benegal was born in 1934 in Hyderabad in southern India. He earned an economics diploma from Hyderabad’s Osmania College and established the Hyderabad Movie Society. He additionally ventured into promoting, the place he directed over 900 sponsored documentaries and promoting movies.
Benegal is also survived by his spouse, Nira Benegal.
