Shyam Benegal: Despite Industry Connections, How Director Carved His Niche Away From Shadow Of Filmmaking Family

Shyam Benegal Dies: Just nine days after he celebrated his 90th birthday, Shyam Benegal, one of India's most prolific directors, passed away. Fondly called Shyam Babu by friends and colleagues, Benegal was a pillar of meaningful cinema of the 1970s and 1980s alongside Sai Paranjpye, Govind Nihalani, Mani Kaul, Saeed Akhtar Mirza and Kumar Shahani.

A star maker, Benegal is credited with launching the careers of Bollywood's most influential actors - Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah, Rajit Kapoor and Girish Karnad. A rare artiste, he worked extensively in non-fiction and fiction across varied mediums -- films, documentaries, biopics and ambitious TV shows.

Why Shyam Benegal didn't work with Guru Dutt

Born in Tirumalagiri, now in Telangana, Shyam Benegal grew up with cinema around him. His father was a still photographer who also made short films. He was also a second cousin of film legend Guru Dutt. Benegal did his masters in economics from Hyderabad's Osmania University. He planned to take up teaching but decided against it. A young Benegal soon moved to Mumbai looking for work and initially thought about assisting Dutt but gave up on that as he had his own ideas.

Instead, he took up a job as a copywriter at an advertising agency. After a while, his agency shifted him to the film department sensing his inclination towards the medium where he began making ad films until becoming a full-time filmmaker. He then made documentaries for the Films Division of India before making his feature film debut with Ankur.

How Shyam Benegal and Guru Dutt's cinema differed

Perhaps, not assisting Guru Dutt was a decision that served Shyam Benegal well in his prolific career as he made movies vastly different from his cousin's repertoire. While Dutt's cinema was deeply personal, Benegal's art was overtly political. He was a chronicler of India’s times and politics. His work was distinctly different and served as an alternative to mainstream movies. He told stories of class and caste struggles, feminist concerns, rural distress and community dynamics.

Ankur, his directorial debut,  delved into caste struggles and feudalism in a small village in India. Mandi dealt with a brothel and its occupants who deftly navigate the men in their lives. Welcome to Sajjanpur, which was about an aspiring novelist turned letter writer, was an outright satire.

His documentary Satyajit Ray, Filmmaker, and televisions shows, the ambitious Bharat Ek Khoj, based on Jawaharlal Nehru's book Discovery of India and Samvidhaan, a 10-part serial on the making of the Constitution showed a different side of him.

Benegal also explored Mahatma Gandhi's various shades in his various projects. In The Making of the Mahatma, Rajit Kapoor portrayed Gandhi during his South African years. Later on, Gandhi appeared in two episodes of Bharat Ek Khoj and was played by Neeraj Kabi in 10-part series Samvidhaan. In his biopic on Netaji, 2005's Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero, the role of Gandhi was enacted by Surendra Rajan.

Benegal's movies will continue to serve as a masterclass for aspiring filmmakers in India and abroad. He is survived by his wife Nira Mukherji and his daughter Pia. 

(With PTI inputs)