Shyam Benegal, Movie Legend, Dies At 90

'If there is one thing Shyam Benegal expressed best: It was the Poetry of the ordinary face and ordinary lives.'

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

The legendary film-maker passed away at Mumbai's Wockhardt Hospital due to chronic kidney disease, she informed.

"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," Pia Benegal said.

In his prolific career, Benegal made films on diverse issues, documentaries and television serials, including Bharat Ek Khoj and Samvidhaan. His films like Bhumika, Junoon, Mandi, Suraj Ka Satvaan Ghoda, Mammo and Sardari Begum are counted as classics in Hindi cinema.

He had celebrated his 90th birthday just 10 days ago on December 14.

The director told PTI on the occasion that he had to frequently visit the hospital and was on dialysis.

"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."

Benegal is survived by his wife Nira and daughter Pia.

The director's most recent work was the 2023 biographical Mujib: The Making Of A Nation.

Tributes to Shyam Babu, as he was known to friends and colleagues, who rewrote the rules of Indian movies poured in.

Shekhar Kapur said Benegal created 'new wave' cinema and will always be remembered as the man who changed the direction of Hindi cinema with films like Ankur and Manthan.

'He created stars out of great actors like Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil. Farewell my friend and my guide,' he added.

'If there is one thing Shyam Benegal expressed best: It was the Poetry of the ordinary face and ordinary lives,' Director Sudhir Mishra said.

'Much will be written about Shyam Benegal but for me not many talk about the fact that there was a lament in his films and a sadness about the fact we were not living in the best of all possible worlds,' Mishra added.

Director Sandip Ray on Monday described Shyam Benegal's death as a personal loss for the Ray family, recalling that the ace director had made a documentary on his father, the legendary Satyajit Ray, whom he affectionately called 'Manikda'.

Talking to PTI, Sandip expressed his shock at the news of Benegal's passing, remembering how the two shared a warm, personal bond that deepened after the film-maker made Ankur (1974).

"Whenever my father visited Mumbai, Benegal would invite him to his home and to film screenings. They had a unique relationship," Sandip said.

Sandip praised Benegal for exploring the vast acting abilities of stars like Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah in his films.

He also recalled how Benegal made the documentary on Satyajit Ray, one of the most comprehensive works on his father's life and career, and showed a keen interest in the restoration of Ray's films. Sandip shared an anecdote where Benegal once remarked, "There is only one Ray."

It took the genius of Shyam Benegal to see beyond his looks, says actor Manoj Bajpayee who never imagined himself playing a royal and did so in the 2001 film Zubeidaa after the film-maker convinced him.

The actor met Benegal a couple of years after his breakout role as the mafia don Bhiku Mhatre in the 1998 crime classic Satya by Ram Gopal Varma.

"He sent me a message through Ram Gopal Varma. And Varma told me only one thing, 'Shyam Benegal wants to work with you. He wants to cast you in some role. I don't know what the film is all about but you are not going to say no to anything that he offers. That should be our regard and respect to that film-maker, so you are going to say yes. You are not going to say no.'

"And I was so grateful to Ram Gopal Varma that I decided that I will do whatever he gives me," Bajpayee told PTI in a recent interview.

So the actor did say yes to Benegal's film but was taken aback when he found that the role was that of Prince Vijayendra Singh of Fatehpur opposite Karisma Kapoor.

"It was his genius to see me beyond my looks. He was very convinced that it is Manoj Bajpayee who will do this role. It was me who was doubting that. He told me, 'These are the photographs of all the kings of India and you tell me whether you are better looking than them or not.'

"He did that to just calm me down about the casting. I was very doubtful about his casting," the 55 year old said.

Zubeidaa was a learning phase for Bajpayee as an artiste, pivotal in changing public perception about what he could do.