Shyam Benegal, the shining beacon of Indian cinema, was laid to rest on Tuesday, December 24, 2024. around 3 pm with full state honours and a three-gun salute at Shivaji Park, central Mumbai.
Benegal had celebrated his 90th birthday 10 days ago, on December 14.
Members of the film industry and friends arrived to bid an emotional farewell.
IMAGE: Ila Arun, who was a regular in Benegal's films, mourns with the family. She said, "We feel orphaned without Shyambabu. The golden age he brought in the film industry will never come back." Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff.com
IMAGE: Javed Akhtar represented his wife Shabana Azmi at the funeral, as she is currently out of town.
Shabana marked her acting debut in Benegal's Ankur, for which she won the National Award for Best Actress. The duo went on to work in many more films, including Nishant and Mandi.
"He was a great man. A great film-maker," Javedsaab said.
"We used these words so many times about him but it is actually true. Any person who was associated with him was in love with him. He carried his success very lightly on his shoulders. That kind of humility is rare.
"So many film-makers came into being because of Shyam Benegalsaab. He was the father of parallel cinema in Hindi. The apex body of film clubs once made a list of 100 best film-makers ever in the world, there were only names in that list: Satyajit Ray and Shyam Benegal.
"Shabana is not here but I spoke to her. She is in a bad condition. She has taken this news to her heart.
"During his last birthday celebrations, Shabana was there but I was away. Now she is away. We used to visit him at his house. Shabana would visit him frequently. She used to look up to him as a father." Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff.com
Shabana marked her acting debut in Benegal's Ankur, for which she won the National Award for Best Actress. The duo went on to work in many more films, including Nishant and Mandi.
"He was a great man. A great film-maker," Javedsaab said.
"We used these words so many times about him but it is actually true. Any person who was associated with him was in love with him. He carried his success very lightly on his shoulders. That kind of humility is rare.
"So many film-makers came into being because of Shyam Benegalsaab. He was the father of parallel cinema in Hindi. The apex body of film clubs once made a list of 100 best film-makers ever in the world, there were only names in that list: Satyajit Ray and Shyam Benegal.
"Shabana is not here but I spoke to her. She is in a bad condition. She has taken this news to her heart.
"During his last birthday celebrations, Shabana was there but I was away. Now she is away. We used to visit him at his house. Shabana would visit him frequently. She used to look up to him as a father." Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff.com
IMAGE: Film folk say their last goodbyes to a movie giant. Photograph: Sahil Salvi
IMAGE: Benegal was cremated with a three-gun salute and full state honours. Photograph: Sahil Salvi
IMAGE: A last salute. Photograph: Sahil Salvi
IMAGE: The mortal remains were reportedly brought in by the grieving family members. Photograph: Sahil Salvi
IMAGE: Naseeruddin Shah, who worked with Benegal on several films like Nishant, Manthan, and Bhumika, arrived to bid goodbye to the film-maker. Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff.com
IMAGE: Govind Nihalani, who collaborated frequently with Benegal, paid his last respects at the crematorium. Nihalani, who celebrated his 84th birthday on December 19, considered Benegal as one of his mentors in the film industry. Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff.com
IMAGE: Hansal Mehta with his Gandhi actors Pratik Gandhi and his wife Bhamini Oza. Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff.com
IMAGE: Shreyas Talpade worked with Benegal in the 2008 social comedy Welcome to Sajjanpur. The actor told the media that Welcome to Sajjanpur remains his best shooting experience.
"We would talk a lot on the sets. He was such a disciplined yet kind person. He would mesmerise us with his talk. I used to think he was strict, but he was exactly opposite.
"He made all his films with full conviction and the kind of conviction he had was phenomenal. His contribution to the parallel cinema movement in India is so huge."
Sharing a fond memory with Shyambabu, Talpade said, "We were once doing an improvisation during rehearsals and once the camera started rolling, we did what was there in the script. Shyam sir asked us to stop and said, 'What happened to all the improvisation that you were doing?'
"In that moment, I realised how much freedom he loves giving to his actors and that gave us a lot of confidence." Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff.com
"We would talk a lot on the sets. He was such a disciplined yet kind person. He would mesmerise us with his talk. I used to think he was strict, but he was exactly opposite.
"He made all his films with full conviction and the kind of conviction he had was phenomenal. His contribution to the parallel cinema movement in India is so huge."
Sharing a fond memory with Shyambabu, Talpade said, "We were once doing an improvisation during rehearsals and once the camera started rolling, we did what was there in the script. Shyam sir asked us to stop and said, 'What happened to all the improvisation that you were doing?'
"In that moment, I realised how much freedom he loves giving to his actors and that gave us a lot of confidence." Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff.com
IMAGE: Nandita Das worked with Benegal in the 2000 film Hari Bhari, and feels 'the world will never be the same again'.
Recalling her recent interaction with Benegal, Nandita shared that she received an e-mail from him after seeing Zwigato. They had also caught up before that when they chatted about lot of things. Nandita credits Benegal's Bharat Ek Khoj for "teaching us values, wisdom and sensitivity."
"He was probably not even aware, but he made so many of us a better person," she said. Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff.com
Recalling her recent interaction with Benegal, Nandita shared that she received an e-mail from him after seeing Zwigato. They had also caught up before that when they chatted about lot of things. Nandita credits Benegal's Bharat Ek Khoj for "teaching us values, wisdom and sensitivity."
"He was probably not even aware, but he made so many of us a better person," she said. Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff.com
IMAGE: Film Producer Ronnie Screwwala and Boman Irani. Irani worked with Benegal in his 2009 social comedy Well Done Abba. Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff.com
IMAGE: Minissha Lamba played a lead role in Benegal's Well Done Abba. Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff.com
IMAGE: Varun Badola and Rajeshwari Sachdev. Rajeshwari worked with Benegal in his 1996 film Sardari Begum and Hari Bhari. Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff.com
IMAGE: Naseeruddin Shah's younger son Vivaan Shah. Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff.com
IMAGE: Tannishtha Chatterjee had collaborated with Shyam Benegal on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero. Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff.com
IMAGE: Kulbhushan Kharbanda worked extensively with Benegal on films such as Bhumika, Junoon, Kalyug and Susman. Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff.com
IMAGE: Ila Arun with Pallavi Joshi. Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff.com
IMAGE: Dalip Tahil worked with Benegal on his 1985 film, Trikal. Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff.com
IMAGE: Rajit Kapoor worked with Benegal on Mammo, Sardari Begum, Hari-Bhari and Zubeidaa. Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff.com
IMAGE: Divya Dutta worked with Benegal on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero and Welcome to Sajjanpur. Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff.com
IMAGE: Actor Anang Desai. Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff.com
IMAGE: Sachin Khedekar played the titular role in Benegal's 2005 film Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero. Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff.com
IMAGE: Actor and Casting Director Dolly Thakore. Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff.com
