Making a film like Mandi in just 28 days that got a silver jubilee run in theaters , Making the first crowd funded movie in India with around five lakh farmers funding Rs 2 each for the making of Manthan or making content with series of episodes based on Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru’s book “The Discovery of India” by the name Bharat Ek Khoj , Padmabhushan Dada Saheb Phalke Sri Shyam Benegal set many trends in movie making many years ago from now but the fact that these trends are still as fresh now in 2024 as they were when first introduced speaks volumes about the great man and the kind of knowledge and vision he had with respect to the art of film making.
Shyam Benegal made movies on unique subjects like the way he portrayed the struggles of women in India through his works in Ankur and Nishanth which were different and were admired by the audience as well as critics .
Born in a kannada family he grew up in Hyderabad and went on to study in the prestigious Nizam college and then Osmania University ,he was a well educated man who chose the art of making films as his career and excelled at it. Anugraham was the only Telugu film he made which was dubbed with the name Kondura in Hindi.
He introduced and gave major breaks to many well known artistes like Om Puri , Naseeruddin Shah , Smita Patil , Shabana Azmi who went on to make a mark for themselves .
He was a member of Rajya Sabha and in later years he made a series named Samvidhaan based on the Indian Constitution which released in 2014.
He won many awards like the Filmfare , Nandi and the ANR award . Mujib : The making of a nation a biopic of Bangladeshi leader Mujeeb-Ur-Rehman which released in 2023 was his last work. Shyam Benegal will live through his work which will be cherished forever.
