Shyam Benegal, a renowned Indian filmmaker known for pioneering a cinema movement that tackled social issues in the 1970s, has died after chronic kidney disease. He was 90.
His contribution to cinema was recognized as a director, editor, and screenwriter. He came into the limelight with films — Ankur (1974), Nishant (1975), Manthan (1976,) and Bhumika (1977) — that challenged mainstream Bollywood by dealing with the social realities of a poor nation.
Benegal died at Mumbai’s Wockhardt Hospital, and his cremation will take place on Tuesday, the Press Trust of India news agency reported, citing his daughter Piya.
“Benegal had been suffering from chronic kidney disease for several years but it had gotten very bad,” Piya said.
Benegal also was widely known for Bharat Ek Khoj, a landmark 53-episode television series based on the book Discovery of India, written by India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. It chronicled the country’s troubled passages, from ancient times to modernity.
He also directed a 2023 biopic on Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who led Bangladesh’s freedom struggle against Pakistan in the 1970s. Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India in August following a student movement, is the daughter of Rahman.
Benegal was born in 1934 in Hyderabad in southern India. He earned an economics degree from Hyderabad’s Osmania University and established the Hyderabad Film Society. He also ventured into advertising, where he directed over 900 sponsored documentaries and advertising films.
Benegal also is survived by his wife, Nira Benegal.
