Acclaimed Indian filmmaker Shyam Benegal dies aged 90 – #INA

Shyam Benegal, the acclaimed Indian filmmaker who spearheaded a brand new wave cinema motion of the Nineteen Seventies with movies addressing social points, has handed away on the age of 90 attributable to persistent kidney illness.

He was celebrated for his contributions to cinema as a director, editor and screenwriter, and is credited with pioneering a brand new style of filmmaking.

Benegal handed away on Monday at Mumbai’s Wockhardt Hospital, and his cremation will happen on Tuesday, the Press Belief of India information company reported, citing his daughter Pia.

“He had been affected by persistent kidney illness for a number of years but it surely had gotten very unhealthy. That’s the explanation for his demise,” Pia mentioned.

Quite a few tributes to the legendary filmmaker poured in on social media platforms.

Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt wrote that Benegal advised tales with out pretence. “They have been uncooked and actual, in regards to the struggles of strange individuals. His movies had craft and conviction.”

Actor Manoj Bajpayee, who labored with the filmmaker, referred to as him “a visionary who redefined storytelling and impressed generations”.

A heartbreaking loss for Indian cinema. Shyam Benegal wasn’t only a legend, he was a visionary who redefined storytelling and impressed generations. Working with him in Zubeidaa was a transformative expertise for me, exposing me to his distinctive type of storytelling & nuanced… pic.twitter.com/EH0eosqkAR

— manoj bajpayee (@BajpayeeManoj) December 23, 2024

Benegal mentored prime Indian actors, together with Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah, and Om Puri who made their mark in Bollywood’s common cinema as nicely.

“I’ve misplaced my foster father, a person to whom I owe greater than I can say,” posted Naseeruddin Shah.

“Deeply saddened by the passing of Shyam Benegal, whose storytelling had a profound affect on Indian cinema. His works will proceed to be admired by individuals from completely different walks of life,” India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X.

Benegal got here into the limelight within the Nineteen Seventies, with a collection of movies that challenged mainstream Bollywood. His movies Ankur (1974), Nishant (1975), Manthan (1976), and Bhumika (1977) represented a parallel cinema coping with the social realities of a poor nation.

Ankur explored the feudal divide in India, whereas Manthan was primarily based on the story of the nation’s cooperative dairy milk motion.

Benegal was extensively recognized for his collection Bharat Ek Khoj, a landmark 53-episode tv collection primarily based on the guide Discovery of India, written by India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and chronicled the nation’s troubled passages, from historical occasions to modernity.

He additionally directed a 2023 biopic on Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who led Bangladesh’s freedom battle 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 Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Hindi cinema could be divided into pre and publish Shyam Benegal. Too many have stood on the shoulders of this fearless and trailblazing filmmaker. Salaam, Shyambabu. pic.twitter.com/13h6khJEb1

— Raja Sen (@RajaSen) December 23, 2024

Benegal was born in December 1934, in Hyderabad in southern India, and had an early launch on the earth of cinema. 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 not less than 900 sponsored documentaries and promoting movies.

Benegal is survived by his spouse Nira Benegal and daughter Pia.