Shyam Benegal, who died on December 23, hailed from an illustrious Konkani-speaking family from the Karnataka coast, and his early filmmaking was closely associated with two distinguished names from the state – Girish Karnad and Anant Nag.
Shyam’s father Sridhar B Benegal moved to Hyderabad from the undivided Dakshina Kannada district. In that city, he had made a name as a photographer. “That is how Shyam developed a keen interest in the camera,” says Anant Nag, who acted in six of Bengal’s critically acclaimed films. Benegal and the auteur Guru Dutt are second cousins.
In Ankur, Anant was paired with Shabana Azmi. He subsequently acted in Nishant (1975), Manthan (1976), Bhumika (1977), Kondura (1978) and Kalyug (1981). Karnad was among the lead actors in Nishant. He worked on the script of Kondura as well.
Anant was active in theatre in Mumbai when he was introduced to Benegal. “In those days, Shyam used to work with Alyque Padamsee on his stage productions,” he recalls.
Benegal grew up in Hyderabad and got an MA in economics from Osmania University. He began his career as an advertising copywriter in Lintas. That led him to an interest in commercials and corporate films. He made about 900 commercials in the course of his advertising career.
In 1962, Benegal made his first documentary in Gujarat. He switched to Hindi for his feature films, the first of which he made in the ’70s. “He knew Telugu,” says Anant. “One of his films, Kondura, was produced by (the actor) Vanisri. It was made simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu.” Kondura was called ‘Anugraham’ in Telugu, and in it, Anant got to play Vanisri’s husband Parashuram.
At one point, Benegal considered settling in Bengaluru. “He bought a house in Koramangala. But then he decided he had to be in Mumbai as his writers and technicians were out there,” says Anant.
Prime minister Indira Gandhi was impressed with Benegal’s work, and roped him in to make a series for Doordarshan based on Jawaharlal Nehru’s book ‘The Discovery of India.’ The series was called Bharat-Ek Khoj and reached millions of homes, thanks to the national broadcaster.
Over the years, Benegal’s interest in history deepened, and he went on to make biopics. The Making of the Mahatma looked at Gandhi’s evolution as a leader. The Forgotten Hero was a tribute to Subhas Chandra Bose. His last was The Making of a Nation, based on the life and times of Mujibur Rahman. Among his more recent productions was Samvidhan, a film on the Constitution, intended to educate young Indians.
Benegal was 90 when he died in Mumbai last week. Tributes described him as “the pioneer of Indian parallel cinema”.