‘Shyam Had The Answer To Every ‘Why’ Under The Sun’

‘I
find
his
sense
of
history
astounding,
not
just
history
of
film,
but
of
life
in
general.’
Another
fascinating
excerpt
from
Sangeeta
Datta’s
book

Shyam
Benegal.

Shabana
Azmi
on
Shyam
Benegal

Shyam
Benegal
is
my
reluctant
guru.
He
has
not
allowed
me
to
be
worshipful
but
he
is
my
mentor
and
adviser.
He
wears
his
wisdom
very
lightly
and
has
always
challenged
me
to
be
his
equal.
That
doesn’t
come
easily
to
people.
As
a
film-maker,
he
is
deeply
connected
to
life.
An
avid
reader,
loves
music,
theatre,
painting
—
he
is
somebody
that
I
would
like
to
be.

There
are
two
aspects
to
my
personality
—
my
international
side
and
my
traditional
Muslim
side
(my
culture)
—
I
could
have
tilted
either
way.

It
was
because
of
Shyam,
Jennifer
and
Shashi
Kapoor
that
I
developed
my
international
side
—
their
world
views
and
ideas…
The
way
I
look
at
a
city
was
shaped
by
Shyam.

When
I
went
to
Cannes
with
Shyam,
he
would
ask
about
the
history
of
the
place,
about
its
architecture,
its
people.

At
21,
I
was
more
interested
in
shopping
and
such.
He
would
discuss
and
plan
all
the
films
that
I
should
watch
at
the
festival.
In
Paris,
he
would
take
me
to
the
most
authentic
food
joints.

It
became
a
pattern
to
accompany
him
on
location
hunts.
I
would
go
with
him;
he
would
talk
about
the
character
with
rich
details
and
back
stories.
I
would
absorb
everything
because
during
the
shoot
he
would
not
have
the
time
to
say
all
this
again.

On
location
in
the
villages,
Shyam
would
build
toilets,
build
badminton
courts,
arrange
for
carrom
sets,
so
the
unit
could
be
fit
and
relaxed.

Shyam
has
the
director’s
eye.

He
had
this
brilliant
team
of
actors
who
would
learn
their
lines
quickly.
We
would
rehearse,
find
our
spaces,
then
Shyam
would
place
his
camera
—
never
a
frame
which
looked
wrong.

After
the
day’s
shoot,
Shyam
would
be
the
big
father
figure
to
his
unit
—
discussing
their
love
life,
personal
problems
etc.

Much
later
his
total
involvement
with
’cause’
films
has
been
a
problem.
Now
the
scripts
are
not
as
dramatic,
production
has
been
made
easier,
thus
preventing
great
films
from
being
made.
With
the
script
for

Hari
Bhari,
I
had
felt
there
was
some
stereotyping
of
the
Muslim
community
(they
are
poor,
have
too
many
children,
etc).
As
UN
goodwill
ambassador
for
population,
I
also
thought
that
was
politically
incorrect.

Shyam
is
very
open
to
suggestions
and
will
never
make
ego
an
issue
at
all.

I
had
suggested
some
changes
in
the
script
about
my
character
Ghazala,
which
were
taken
very
easily.
Ghazala
stitches
clothes
to
earn
some
money
at
her
mother’s
home;
she
then
encourages
her
daughter
to
study.

Om
Puri
on
Shyam
Benegal

Shyam
has
been
productive
for
three
decades
and
has
introduced
new
talent
in
actors,
scriptwriters,
editors,
art
directors.
What
is
most
outstanding
is
Benegal’s
sense
of
history,
of
film
and
history
in
general.

Benegal’s
films
in
Hindi
are
an
immense
contribution
to
national
cinema,
unlike
Satyajit
Ray,
whose
films
were
known
in
Bengal
and
abroad,
but
not
in
other
regions
of
India.

Shyam
is
not
just
a
feature
film-maker,
he
is
an
activist
with
films
on
various
subjects,
always
trying
to
tell
a
story,
using
narrative
devices
to
underscore
an
issue.
His
early
script
collaborators
did
a
fine
job
in
balancing
the
drama
and
issues
in
each
film.

There
was
great
sense
of
camaraderie
in
Shyam’s
units.

During
the
shoot
for

Mandi,
we
would
all
play
volleyball
outside
the
sets
till
each
one
was
called
in
for
his
or
her
shot.

For

Susman,
I
spent
two
weeks
with
the
weavers
of
Pochampally
to
learn
weaving
for
my
part.
I
actually
wove
40
metres
of
cloth
which
I
gave
to
Shyam,
Nira,
Shabana
and
Govind.

I
find
his
sense
of
history
astounding,
not
just
history
of
film,
but
of
life
in
general.
Like
Neena
Gupta
said,
Shyam
has
the
answer
to
every
‘why’
under
the
sun
—
even
the
history
of
the
safety
pin.
I
treat
him
like
a
walking
encyclopaedia
on
various
subjects.
After
Ebrahim
Alkazi,
my
teacher
in
the
National
School
of
Drama,
Shyam
is
the
strongest
influence
in
shaping
my
personality.

Shyam
shies
away
from
passion
or
emotion
(unlike
Govind
Nihalani).

In
this
manner,
he
is
like
Ray.
Perhaps
his
intellect
does
not
allow
the
display
of
raw
emotions
—
we
see
an
effort
to
distance
from
overdramatised
scenes,
quick
cuts
from
emotional
scenes.
However,
this
is
not
wholly
true
of

Ankur
or

Bhumika.

The
problem
with
distribution
of
Shyam’s
films
can
be
attributed
to
the
fact
that
Benegal
has
not
followed
up
marketing
like
other
commercial
directors.
The
production
budgets
had
no
investment
in
public
relations.
Also
the
present
scriptwriters
are
of
no
comparable
standard
to
his
earlier
collaborators.

An
extremely
disciplined
man,
he
is
in
his
office
at
10
every
morning.
He
works
in
the
office
half
a
day
even
when
he
is
not
into
production.

Excerpted
from

Shyam
Benegal
by
Sangeeta
Datta,
with
the
kind
permission
of
the
publishers
ROLI.