Amitabh Bachchan, Nafisa Ali, Karisma Kapoor pay rich tributes to Shyam Benegal

PTI, Dec 24, 2024, 11:01 AM IST

Shyam Benegal

New Delhi: Tributes continued to pour in for celebrated filmmaker Shyam Benegal, with Amitabh Bachchan, Nafisa Ali, Karisma Kapoor and Ajay Devgn remembering the “stalwart” and “legend” for his contribution to Indian cinema.

Benegal, the pioneer whose films such as “Ankur”, “Mandi”, “Nishant”, and “Junoon” defined the Indian ‘parallel cinema movement’ in the 1970s and 1980s, died on Monday at Mumbai’s Wockhardt Hospital due to chronic kidney disease. He was 90.

Shabana Azmi, a close friend and Benegal’s frequent collaborator, shared the funeral details on her Instagram Stories.

The last rites will take place at 3 pm on Tuesday at Shivaji Park Electric Crematorium in Mumbai’s Dadar neighbourhood.

Bachchan paid homage to the director in an X post.

“We have lost another stalwart of the Film Industry today .. Shyam Benegal passes away .. Prayers and condolences (sic)” he wrote.

Ali, who worked with Benegal in 1978’s “Junoon”, said the filmmaker made her world “so special”.

“… and saw in me something that no one else did, my vulnerability and captured eternity, the essence of me… Condolences (are) not enough, my heart is in turmoil. Why is life so short?” she wrote as she sent love to Benegal’s wife Nira and daughter Pia.

“May you change the canvas of the universe and teach humanity that life is a film created by our vision,” Ali added in her post.

Kapoor shared a still from Benegal’s 2001 film “Zubeidaa” in which she played the titular role.

In another post on her Instagram Story, the actor shared a behind-the-scenes picture with the director from the set of “Zubeidaa”.

“Rest in Peace Shyam Babu. Legend forever. Ur Zubeidaa.. #ShyamBenegal,” she wrote in the caption.

Be it short films, documentaries, TV dramas or non-fiction serials, Benegal dabbled in different mediums of cinema with equal flair.

In an X post, documentary filmmaker Rakesh Sharma remembered his “first boss” Benegal, whom he assisted on the Doordarshan series “Bharat Ek Khoj”, based on Jawaharlal Nehru’s book “Discovery of India”.

“For 3 rather intense years of work, soaking, absorbing, learning, arguing and fighting on 53 episodes of Discovery Of India/ #BharatEkKhoj. An incredible experience that shaped and enriched me. You will be missed, ShyamBabu!” Sharma wrote.

Benegal’s most recent work was the 2023 biographical “Mujib: The Making of a Nation”, a biopic on Bangladesh’s founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Bangladeshi actor Arifin Shuvoo, who played the title role in the film, shared a black-and-white photograph with the filmmaker from the movie sets.

“Your films were more than just stories – they were lessons in humanity and culture. You’ve left an indelible mark on all of us. Rest in peace, Sir. Om Shanti #ShyamBenegal,” actor Ajay Devgn wrote on X.

Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar shared a photo of Benegal with her stepmother Azmi and Smita Patil, the actors of his acclaimed film “Nishant”, at its Cannes Film Festival premiere in 1976.

“The OG Mr Benegal. Cannes 1976 with his film Nishant. With him were the two leading ladies he had introduced to the screen, Smita Patil and Shabana Azmi. RIP Sir. Thank You For The New Wave. Thank You For The Films,” Akhtar wrote on Instagram.

Actor Shreyas Talpade called Benegal an “institution” in himself. The duo worked together in the 2008 comedy drama “Welcome To Sajjanpur”.

“Dear Shyam sir…I consider myself blessed that I had the privilege of working with you… Every day on the sets of Welcome to Sajjanpur felt like attending a mesmerising masterclass. The Shreyas who started the film and the Shreyas who walked off the sets after the shoot were different individuals–all thanks to you,” Talpade wrote.

Actor Randeep Hooda said Benegal will live on through his unforgettable films.

“He inspired so many lives including mine through his cinema .. sadly missed working with him a couple of times.. always kind, soft spoken and thoughtful.. he continued doing what he loved right till the end, inspiring us further, all over again .. thank you Benegal saab,” Hooda wrote on X.