Renowned filmmaker Shyam Benegal passes away at 90

Renowned filmmaker Shyam Benegal, who was unwell for a long time, passed away at the age of 90. He breathed his last at 6:39 PM at the Vokart Hospital in Mumbai Central on Monday. His death was confirmed by his daughter, Pia Benegal. He had been battling chronic kidney disease. On December 14, Shyam Benegal celebrated his 90th birthday. Shabana Azmi shared a picture of the celebration on December 15, which featured notable personalities like Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Divya Dutta, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Kunal Kapoor, and others.

He created ‘the new wave’ cinema. #shyambenegal will always be remembered as the man that changed the direction of Indian Cinema with films like Ankur, Manthan and countless others. He created stars out great actors like Shabama Azmi and Smita Patil. Farewell my friend and guide pic.twitter.com/5r3rkX48Vx

— Shekhar Kapur (@shekharkapur) December 23, 2024

Shyam Benegal was renowned for directing iconic films such as Ankur (1973), Nishant (1975), Manthan (1976), Bhumika (1977), Mammo (1994), Sardari Begum (1996), and Zubeidaa (2001), among many others. He was conferred with the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1976 and the Padma Bhushan in 1991 in recognition of his outstanding contributions to cinema. He was also honored with the Padma Shri in 1976. Benegal also made several critically acclaimed films like “Mandi" (1983), “Trikaal" (1985), and “Sardari Begum" (1996).  His last release was Mujib: The Making of a Nation, which hit theatres in 2023.