Acclaimed film director Shyam Benegal passes away at 90

He is survived by his wife Nira Benegal and daughter Pia Benegal, a costume designer.

Mumbai: Eminent filmmaker Shyam Benegal, the master of parallel cinema in India, passed away in Mumbai on Monday. He was 90.

He is survived by wife Nira Benegal and daughter Pia Benegal, a costume designer.

Benegal was unwell for over a year because of age-related issues.

Shyam Babu, as he was popularly known, was a cousin of legendary Guru Dutt.

RIP Shyam Benegal: Tributes pour in for the master of parallel cinema

His iconic films Ankur (1973), Nishant (1975), Mantan (1976) and Bhumika (1977) made him the pioneer of new-wave Indian cinema.

His 53-episode tele-series Bharat ek Khoj, largely based on Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's 'Discovery of India', tells 5,000 years of history of the Indian sub-continent.

His trilogy on Muslim women - Mammo (1994), Sardari Begum (1996) and Zubeidda (2001) earned accolades worldwide.

During his career spanning around six decades, Benegal used a bouquet of actors from Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and National School of Drama (NSD).

Benegal is recipient of several awards including Dadasaheb Phalke Award, National Film Awards, Padma Shree and Padma Bhushan.

Benegal worked with actors like Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Anant Nag, Amrish Puri, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Shashi Kapoor among others.

Hailing from Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin family, he was born in Hyderabad on December 14, 1934.

Professionally, he started as a copywriter in Lintas Advertising, a leading ad agency.

Benegal also worked as a teacher in the Film and Television Institute of India and had served as its Chairman twice.

He had also served as Director of National Film Development Corporation.

He also made 21 films for the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment, which were sponsored by UNICEF.

Benegal's films are known for the strong messages they hold.

Manthan was based on the dairy industry. On the other hand, Nishant had a story on abduction of a teacher's wife and sexual assault by zamindars. Bhumika was based on the life of an actress.

Based on a folk tale, Charandas Chor (1975) was one of the iconic films of Children's Film Society of India (CFSI).

Mandi (1983) was a satire on politics and prostituition.

For Shashi Kapoor, Benegal made Junoon (1978) and Kalyug (1981).

His Trikal (1985) was based on relationships.

His latest works include Welcome to Sajjanpur (2008).

His last big project was Mujib: The Making of a Nation, a biopic of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader of Bangladesh.