‘I Learnt So Much From Shyambabu’

‘I
have
never
met
anyone
so
knowledgeable
and
with
so
much
conviction,
so
much
humility
about
everything
he
knew.’

“I
got
to
work
with
Shyambabu
a
bit
late
in

Zubeidaa
because
there
was
a
lull
in
the
parallel
cinema
movement,”

Manoj
Bajpayee
tells

Subhash
K
Jha.

“Zubeidaa
was
his
attempt
to
get
into
the
mainstream
because
he
cast
Karisma
Kapoor
and
Rekha.
I
asked
him
one
day,
why
have
you
gone
for
this
kind
of
casting?
He
said,
I’m
making
a
film
about
palaces,
the
politics
of
the
palace,
and
a
love
story
set
in
it.
The
girl,
played
by
Karisma
Kapoor,
has
a
film
background.
So
I
had
to
go
for
the
right
casting.
Also,
it
was
biographical.

“So
his
casting
was
just
apt.
He
needed
glamour
in

Zubeidaa
and
the
only
non-glamorous
part
was
me.
He
told
me
I
was
the
right
choice
to
play
a
prince.
It
was
me
who
was
doubting
his
casting
but
he
convinced
me.

“He
put
me
into
a
comfortable
mind-space
and
said,
just
tell
me
who
is
better
looking
than
you?
He
really
made
me
comfortable
with
the
way
I
looked.

“He
told
me
the
many
ways
to
treat
my
character
—
the
gait,
the
physicality
of
it.
He
helped
me
in
so
many
ways.
He
treated
me
like
a
student
on
the
set,
and
that
was
my
privilege.
That
was
my
luck.
It
was
such
a
learning
experience.”

Manoj
feels
Shyambabu
proved
that
cinema
is
not
only
meant
for
entertainment.

“This
popular
opinion
has
been
dominating
the
cinema
scene
in
this
country.
He
showed
us
that
there
is
more
to
cinema
than
entertainment,
that
cinema
as
an
art,
cinema
as
an
uncompromising
medium
which
could
attract
its
own
audience.

“There
was
no
OTT.
There
was
nothing
else
beyond
the
cinemas
to
release
films.
He
had
to
fight
to
get
his
film
to
the
theatres.
Then
satellite
came
and
he
used
it
in
a
right
way
by
putting
out

Discovery
of
India.
I
was
doing
theatre
at
that
time.”

Manoj
feels
a
thesis
ought
to
be
written
on
Benegal.

“You
know,
people
pass
away
and
we
say
good
things
about
them.
But
in
the
true
sense,
there
are
two
greats
whom
we
will
always
miss
for
the
huge
contribution
they
have
made
in
their
respective
fields
—
Zakir
Hussain
and
Shyambabu.
We
lost
them
within
days
(of
each
other)!
It’s
not
easy
to
fill
this
void.

“Mr
Benegal
was
the
leader
of
the
parallel
cinema,
and
later
it
became
independent
cinema.
People
who
are
making
independent
cinema
today
should
bow
down
in
his
memory.

“He
is
the
father
of
independent
cinema
in
this
country.
Whenever
we
spoke
to
each
other,
we
would
talk
about
collaborating
again.
I
had
so
much
to
learn
on
and
off
the
camera
from
this
great
man.

“There
are
some
filmmakers
who
leave
an
indelible
impression,
not
only
through
their
art
but
also
through
their
discipline.
People
used
to
talk
about
Raj
Kapoor
and
Guru
Dutt
like
this.”

“I
spent
some
beautiful
time
with
him,
just
conversing.
I
also
had
the
fortune
of
sharing
drinks
with
him.
He
loved
his
whiskey.

“I
have
never
met
anyone
so
knowledgeable
and
with
so
much
conviction,
so
much
humility
about
everything
he
knew.”