Renowned filmmaker Shyam Benegal passes away at 90
New Delhi: Renowned filmmaker Shyam Benegal passed away at the age of 90 on December 23, 2024. As per India Today Digital, Shyam’s daughter, Pia Benegal, confirmed that he breathed his last breath at 6:30 PM. As per reports, Shyam Benegal was suffering from kidney-related issues and succumbed to them on Monday. Shyam Benegal celebrated his 90th birthday on December 14, 2024. Indian cinema has suffered a great loss with the death of a pioneer in parallel cinema.
Shyam Benegal was the recipient of India’s highest awards in cinema, the Dadadaheb Phalke Award, the third-highest honour, Padma Bhushan and the fourth-highest civilian honour, the Padma Shri, for his contributions to the field of arts. Not only was Shyam a revolutionary filmmaker but also a professor at Pune’s FTII from the years 1966 to 1973.
In remembrance, let’s take a look at Shyam Begenal’s movies.
Shyam Benegal movies
Shyam Benegal began his career as a copywriter and made Gher Betha Ganga, a Gujarati documentary film in 1962. Next, he ventured into feature film territory as he kickstarted the parallel cinema movement with Ankur (1973), Nishant (1975), Churning (1976) and Bhumika (1977).
Shyam Benegal soon went on to receive accolades for his filmmaking. His films Sardari Begum, Mammaand Zubeida won him the National Film Awards for Best Feature Film in Hindi. This was not it as he went on to win the same title seven times. In the most recent news, Shyam Benegal’s latest feature film was Mujib: The Making of a Nation (2003).
Shyam Benegal’s realism and social commentary broke away from mainstream Indian cinema and made path-breaking films. Despite being 90 years old, the filmmaker spoke to The Hindu about his next three upcoming projects. “I’m working on two to three projects; they are all different from one another. It’s difficult to say which one I will make. They are all for the big screen,” said the director. Now that the legendary director has passed away, these films might never see the light of day.
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