New Delhi: The father of Indian parallel cinema, filmmaker Shyam Benegal, passed away in Mumbai on Monday at the age of 90. Shivaji Park Electric Creamatorium in Mumbai will host the director’s last ceremonies today at 2:00 PM. The famous filmmaker’s daughter Pia Benegal and wife Nira Benegal survive him. Shabana Azmi, who considered the director to be her “guru,” announced the cremation time on her Instagram stories.
Days after his 90th birthday on December 14, he was brought to Mumbai’s Wockhardt Hospital’s acute care unit.
According to Pia Benegal, his daughter, her father had chronic kidney disease.
“He died at Wockhardt Hospital Mumbai Central at 6:38 p.m. For years, he had been dealing with chronic kidney illness, but it had grown really bad. “That’s why he died,” Ms. Pia stated.
Shyam Benegal remained dedicated to his love of filmmaking to the end, even though he faced age-related challenges such as regular hospital stays for dialysis three times a week.
After beginning his career as a copywriter, Shyam Benegal produced Gher Betha Ganga, his first Gujarati documentary, in 1962. Ankur (1973), Nishant (1975), Manthan (1976), and Bhumika (1977) were his first four feature films, which established him as a pioneer of the new wave film movement of that era.
From 1980 to 1986, he also held the position of Director of the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).
Shyam Benegal won multiple awards during his career, including the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s top film honor, the Padma Shri, and the Padma Bhushan.
In addition to winning the V Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018, Shyam Benegal was recognized seven times with the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.
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