<p>Mumbai: Shyam Benegal, the pioneer of parallel cinema, played a pivotal role in Shabana Azmi's career as the actor says he was a guru who influenced not only her approach towards acting but also her understanding of life.</p>.<p>Benegal, known for his socially relevant and thought-provoking films such as "Ankur" (1974), "Mandi" (1983), "Mammo" (1994) and "Zubeidaa" (2001) , died in Mumbai on Monday evening, just nine days after his 90th birthday.</p>.<p>It was Benegal who gave Azmi her first acting role in his directorial debut "Ankur", which explored themes of caste, class, and sexual politics, with a focus on the struggles of rural women.</p>.Acclaimed film director Shyam Benegal passes away at 90.<p>Over the years, the duo collaborated on several projects, including "Nishant" (1975), "Junoon" (1978), "Susman" (1978) and "Antarnaad" (1992).</p>.<p>“Shyam Benegal has been my guru in everything, not just in acting but in the way I view the world. When I went abroad for Ankur with him to the Berlin Film Festival and, as a young kid with stars in my eyes, I wanted to run to the first shopping place.</p>.<p>"But he asked all kinds of questions to the taxi driver; he wanted to know about the garden and the history,” Azmi told PTI in a recent interview.</p>.<p>The 74-year-old actor described Benegal as a “progressive” and “well-informed” filmmaker.</p>.<p>"He opened me up in different ways. When we went to the (Berlin) festival, he would say, 'Let's watch this film for this reason'. So he was like a guru to me," she added.</p>.<p>Azmi was among the actors who celebrated Benegal’s 90th birthday on December 14. The actor had shared a picture with Benegal and Naseeruddin Shah, another frequent collaborator of the director, on social media.</p>.<p>“On #Shyam Benegal’s 90th birthday with my co-actor of many films and my favourite actor @Naseeruddin Shah. Why aren’t more people casting us together?!!” Azmi had posted on Instagram.</p>.<p>The birthday celebration was also attended by Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Divya Dutta, Rajit Kapur and Kunal Kapoor, son of late actor Shashi Kapoor, who had also featured in "Junoon".</p>
<p>Mumbai: Shyam Benegal, the pioneer of parallel cinema, played a pivotal role in Shabana Azmi's career as the actor says he was a guru who influenced not only her approach towards acting but also her understanding of life.</p>.<p>Benegal, known for his socially relevant and thought-provoking films such as "Ankur" (1974), "Mandi" (1983), "Mammo" (1994) and "Zubeidaa" (2001) , died in Mumbai on Monday evening, just nine days after his 90th birthday.</p>.<p>It was Benegal who gave Azmi her first acting role in his directorial debut "Ankur", which explored themes of caste, class, and sexual politics, with a focus on the struggles of rural women.</p>.Acclaimed film director Shyam Benegal passes away at 90.<p>Over the years, the duo collaborated on several projects, including "Nishant" (1975), "Junoon" (1978), "Susman" (1978) and "Antarnaad" (1992).</p>.<p>“Shyam Benegal has been my guru in everything, not just in acting but in the way I view the world. When I went abroad for Ankur with him to the Berlin Film Festival and, as a young kid with stars in my eyes, I wanted to run to the first shopping place.</p>.<p>"But he asked all kinds of questions to the taxi driver; he wanted to know about the garden and the history,” Azmi told PTI in a recent interview.</p>.<p>The 74-year-old actor described Benegal as a “progressive” and “well-informed” filmmaker.</p>.<p>"He opened me up in different ways. When we went to the (Berlin) festival, he would say, 'Let's watch this film for this reason'. So he was like a guru to me," she added.</p>.<p>Azmi was among the actors who celebrated Benegal’s 90th birthday on December 14. The actor had shared a picture with Benegal and Naseeruddin Shah, another frequent collaborator of the director, on social media.</p>.<p>“On #Shyam Benegal’s 90th birthday with my co-actor of many films and my favourite actor @Naseeruddin Shah. Why aren’t more people casting us together?!!” Azmi had posted on Instagram.</p>.<p>The birthday celebration was also attended by Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Divya Dutta, Rajit Kapur and Kunal Kapoor, son of late actor Shashi Kapoor, who had also featured in "Junoon".</p>