Shyam Benegal (1934-2024): The last conscience keeper of Indian cinema

Veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal, who pioneered the Indian parallel cinema movement in the 1970s and 1980s with films such as Ankur, Nishant and Manthan, died on Monday, his daughter Pia said. He was 90.

The filmmaker passed away at Mumbai's Wockhardt Hospital from chronic kidney disease, Pia Benegal told PTI. "He passed away at 6.38 pm at Wockhardt Hospital Mumbai Central. He had been suffering from chronic kidney disease for several years but it had gotten very bad. That's the reason for his death," she said. Hospital sources said Benegal had been admitted in the ICU.

During a prolific career, Benegal made films on diverse issues, documentaries and television serials, including Bharat Ek Khoj and Samvidhaan. He celebrated his 90th birthday just 10 days ago on 14 December.

The director told PTI on the occasion that he had to frequently visit the hospital and was on dialysis. Benegal is survived by his wife Nira Benegal and daughter.

In a recent interaction with PTI on his birthday, celebrated with much fervour in the presence of longtime collaborators such as Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi, Benegal had said: “We all grow old. I don’t do anything great (on my birthday). It may be a special day but I don’t celebrate it specifically. I cut a cake at the office with my team. 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.”

In a world of fast-paced digital content that he found manifestly difficult to adhere to, the emphasis on the 'big screen' is perhaps one of the quaint vestiges of yearning for a more collective and humane cinema that he leaves behind, as part of a sprawling legacy of cinema that was unmistakably and invariably infused with poignant socio-political commentary.

From his very first film Ankur (1974), which tackles issues such as casteism, adultery, and poverty, Benegal's films have displayed a commitment to social justice, speaking for the most marginalised voices in society. Landmark films such as Nishant (1975) and Susman (1987) all continued his efforts to delve deeper into society's many oppressive hierarchies.

Even in the 1990s, at a time when the so-called 'Muslim social' had fallen heavily out of favour among the audience, Benegal collaborated with screenwriter and journalist Khalid Mohammed to curate a trilogy of films centred on the richly conflicted lives of Muslim women; Mammo (1994), Sardari Begum (1996), and Zubeidaa (2001).

Earlier this year, one of the filmmaker's most noted works, Manthan (1976), was digitally restored by the Film Heritage Foundation and screened at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. Starring Naseeruddin Shah and the late Smita Patil, the film was India's first entirely crowdfunded film, paid for by the same 500,000 farmers who were the inspirations for the story and were at the heart of India's 'White Revolution' and Dr Verghese Kurien's milk cooperative movement.

The film was later re-released in theatres for public exhibition as well, often running to packed houses and demonstrating Benegal's enduring relevance as one of Indian cinema's most conscientious voices.