Benegal’s movies shaped perspective towards life

The ace filmmaker Shyam Benegal breathed his last at the age of 90. If Satyajit Ray was the tallest tree in Indian cinema, Benegal was surely its most widespread banyan tree. Benegal Saheb had been a Homi J Bhabha Fellow, Padma Bhushan awardee, Dada Saheb Phalke Awardee and winner of 7 National Best Film Awards.
His first four feature films — Ankur (1973), Nishant (1975), Manthan (1976) and Bhumika (1977) — created a new genre, known as ‘art' or the ‘middle cinema' in India. He did not like these usages and preferred to call it the ‘new age' or ‘alternate cinema'. He introduced some of the finest actors Hindi cinema has seen like Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Amrish Puri.
My father used to make me watch every film of Benegal Saheb during childhood — a habit which I also continued with later as an adult.
I once asked him as to why he rarely took us to the mainstream masala films but invariably to parallel or alternate cinema of such directors. He said that it was a kind of 'investment' he made in me and wanted to make exposure to Benegal's cinema a part of my learning journey. Little wonder, Benegal's films shaped my sensibilities as a person and the perspective towards life in more ways than one.
We watched each episode of Benegal's ‘Bharat Ek Khoj' every week during my early adulthood. It was my way of connecting with my roots through the work of this master craftsman depicting the varied history of India based on Nehru's ‘Discovery of India.' As its title song "Shritsti ka kaun hai karta, unche aakaash mein rahta, sada adhyakshya bana rahta" used to be on air, my family used to sit in pin-drop silence for months together so as not to miss a single episode. For my son Ujiwal, this was a part of his growing up years as it was available on YouTube.
Imagine such masterpieces from Shyam Babu like Ankur, Nishant, Bhumika, Manthan, Susman, Junoon, Kalyug, Mandi, Trikal, Arohan, Mammo, Sardari Begum, Zubeidaa, Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda,
The Making of the Mahatma, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero, Samar and many more - the list is long! Shashi Kapoor teamed up with Benegal Saheb with Junoon (1978) for this turbulent period of the Indian Mutiny of 1857 based on Ruskin Bond's story "The Flight of Pigeons" that was extensively shot in Lucknow, and one of the best Lucknow-based films.
Benegal Saheb also did a documentary on Satyajit Ray's life Ray in 1985 which to my mind remains the most authentic portrayal of the master craftsman. When Mr Benegal once came to my home for a dinner, he presented me a collection of DVDs of his ‘Samvidhaan' on the making of Indian Constitution which would remain my prized possession forever. Watching his films made me develop taste for good cinema and even shaped my sensibilities in life.
Thank you Mr Benegal, you have been like a 'God' to me through your sensitive films and their cinematic excellence. You may have left this world but your work would always remain relevant and continue to inspire us forever!
(Writer is a heritage evangelist, a propellor for skills and an economic reforms activist)