Shyam Benegal was like a guru to me, he was progressive and well-informed: Shabana Azmi

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.

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.

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.

Over the years, the duo collaborated on several projects, including Nishant (1975), Junoon (1978), Susman (1978) and Antarnaad (1992).

“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.

"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.

The 74-year-old actor described Benegal as a “progressive” and “well-informed” filmmaker.

"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.

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.

“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.

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.