Photograph:
Rediff
Archives
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.
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.
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.
