Born in Hyderabad in 1934 and died in Mumbai in 2024, Shyam Benegal was a leader of Indian parallel cinema, and a cousin of the film-maker Guru Dutt. Having started in advertising, he made Ankur (1974), a drama of caste and class in rural Andhra, and the so-called rural trilogy of Ankur, Nishant and Manthan. Manthan (1976), financed by 500,000 farmers who each contributed two rupees, tells of the dairy cooperative movement. He gave early parts to the actors Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri. He received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2005.
Filmography
- Ankur (1974)
- Nishant (1975)
- Manthan (1976)
- Bhumika (1977)
- Junoon (1979)
- Kalyug (1981)
- Mandi (1983)
- The Making of the Mahatma (1996)
- Zubeidaa (2001)
- Welcome to Sajjanpur (2008)