He gave Indian cinema a new voice
Hindustan Times|December 24, 2024
Shyam Benegal, one of India's greatest directors, died on Monday, leaving behind a body of work that will be remembered for its breadth of vision, compassion for the marginalised, intellectual acuity, and a deep humanity.
He gave Indian cinema a new voice

Benegal was the pioneer of the movement known as parallel cinema, and his work is a thoughtful and nuanced examination of the nation in the decades following Independence. He was a champion of the dispossessed, giving the voiceless a voice and telling their story with intelligence, honesty and kindness. Cinema, for Benegal, had a purpose - not a didactic one, but one that engaged with the real in profoundly moving ways.

Born in 1934 in Trimulgherry, a cantonment in Secunderabad, Benegal grew up in a family with strong political leanings. There were cousins who were communists, who belonged to Netaji's Forward Bloc, or to the RSS. He was exposed to a lot of contrarian and passionate views. Yet, his great love was cinema. He made friends with the projectionist of the local Garrison Cinema, and watched all the new releases from the projectionist's window. He recalled cinema as a deeply immersive medium, and at 10 decided that he would be a filmmaker. So, he would scratch little figures on the celluloid he got from the projectionist and played them on the magic lantern. At 12, he made his first film with his father's 16mm camera, Chuttiyon Mein Mauz Maza.

Benegal grew up in a time of tremendous political turmoil. As a student at Nizam's College, he read voraciously, took active part in theatre, and was the editor of the college magazine. He was also in the middle of the violent altercations that broke out during the fraught issue of Hyderabad's relationship with India immediately after Independence. For a man like Benegal in a time of social, political, and cultural upheaval, cinema was always going to be serious business. He could have started under his cousin Guru Dutt, but he had a young man's idealistic disapproval of commercial cinema. If he couldn't make films such as Elia Kazan and Vittorio De Sica, he wouldn't make films at all.

Denne historien er fra December 24, 2024-utgaven av Hindustan Times.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra December 24, 2024-utgaven av Hindustan Times.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA HINDUSTAN TIMESSe alt
Hindustan Times

Russian firm denies corruption in Bangladesh nuclear plant project

Russia's state-run nuclear agency on Tuesday refuted allegations of corruption and embezzlement leveled against it by an anti-graft panel in Bangladesh looking into an atomic power plant it is building in the South Asian country.

time-read
1 min  |
December 25, 2024
Killed Haniyeh in Tehran, Israel says for 1st time
Hindustan Times

Killed Haniyeh in Tehran, Israel says for 1st time

Defence Minister Israel Katz on Monday acknowledged that Israel had killed former Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran earlier this year, as he warned the military would \"decapitate\" the leadership of Yemen's Houthi rebels.

time-read
1 min  |
December 25, 2024
US sanctions on 4 Pak firms have 'no justification': PM
Hindustan Times

US sanctions on 4 Pak firms have 'no justification': PM

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday defended Pakistan's nuclear and missile programme, saying the recent US sanctions against the country's four entities have \"no justification\".

time-read
1 min  |
December 25, 2024
Statesman who chose ideology over power
Hindustan Times

Statesman who chose ideology over power

On his 100th birth anniversary, Atal Bihari Vajpayee's vision of good governance remains as relevant as earlier for the nation

time-read
4 mins  |
December 25, 2024
Battles of attrition in West Asia & Ukraine
Hindustan Times

Battles of attrition in West Asia & Ukraine

ATTRITION HAS BEEN THE NAME OF THE GAME FOR THE ISRAELIS AGAINST HAMAS AND HEZBOLLAH, WITH ISRAEL INFLICTING BODY BLOWS THAT LEFT BOTH TERROR OUTFITS DECAPITATED

time-read
3 mins  |
December 25, 2024
Unlocking philanthropy to meet India's climate goals
Hindustan Times

Unlocking philanthropy to meet India's climate goals

India's climate crisis is not a distant threat—it's a stark reality impacting millions across the country. That said, it is the marginalized—farmers, low-income communities, women, and the displaced—who often bear a disproportionate burden.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 25, 2024
Hindustan Times

Myanmarese living within 10km of Manipur border can enter state with a pass: MHA letter

ORDER SAYS THAT THOSE WHO TRAVEL BEYOND 10KM WOULD BE 'LIABLE FOR ACTION'

time-read
2 mins  |
December 25, 2024
Hindustan Times

JAIPUR HIGHWAY BLAZE TOLL RISES TO 15, SAY POLICE

The toll from Friday's LPG tanker accident on the Jaipur-Ajmer highway rose to 15 as two more people succumbed to injuries at Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital in Jaipur on Tuesday, police said.

time-read
1 min  |
December 25, 2024
Hindustan Times

Boy stripped, urinated on at party, dies by suicide

A 17-year-old boy died allegedly by suicide after a group of teenagers purportedly assaulted him, stripped him, and urinated on him in Basti district of Uttar Pradesh, police said on Tuesday, adding that four accused have been detained so far.

time-read
1 min  |
December 25, 2024
Hindustan Times

K'TAKA CID TO PROBE MIN'S COMPLAINT AGAINST MLC RAVI

Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara on Tuesday said that he has ordered a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probe into a case in which Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader CT Ravi is accused of using a derogatory word against minister Laxmi Hebbalkar in the legislative council last week.

time-read
1 min  |
December 25, 2024