BENEGAL: AN UNPARALLELED ICON

LEKHA J SHANKAR

SPECIAL TO THE NATION

Shyam Benegal, the legendary Indian

director, was presented the Lotus Award at

the 6th World Film Festival of Bangkok on

its opening last Friday. Earlier this year, the

director was given a Lifetime Achievement

Award at the IIFA Awards in Bangkok,

where he was described by renowned Indian

actress Shabana Azmi as "The unparalleled

master of the parallel cinema in India".

Shyam Benegal is indeed the man who

heralded the new-wave "parallel" movement

in Indian cinema with a sensational oeuvre

of films that have given him a permanent

place in Indian film history.

He is also given credit for discovering a

range of stars, such as Shabana Azmi, Smita

Patil, Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri, who

were the harbingers of the "new" cinema in

India. They went on to do mainstream

movies too, followed by international productions,

and today are globally renowned

artists.

Azmi was the star of Benegal's very first

film "Ankur" (1974), which featured in the

main competition of the prestigious Cannes

Festival. It created waves in India for its simple

settings, modest budget and for its controversial

story of economic and sexual exploitation

in a caste-ridden society.

"Ankur" is one of five films to be screened at

the World Film Festival as part of an important

Benegal retrospective - one of the highlights

of the festival.

The other films to be screened are

"Mandi" (1983), a riveting black

comedy about a brothel-madam who holds

her own against politicians; "Manthan"

(1976), a highly watchable drama about

the milk cooperative movement in

Gujarat where 500,000 dairy farmers

paid Rs2 (Bt1.4) each to produce the

film; "Bhumika" (1977), a biopic of

an actress, which created a sensation

when Smita Patil, the sultry

artist who played the lead,

reflected tinges of the screenstar

in her own life and died

some years later during childbirth;

"Samar" (1999), a

scathing take on the caste system;

and "Zubeida" (2001),

part of the director's unique

Muslim-women series.

From his first film "Ankur" to

the very recent "Welcome to

Sajjanpur", his use of local language

patterns has attracted large numbers of

foreign audiences.

In between his feature films, Benegal

made some remarkable documentaries on

famous Indian leaders such as Mahatma

Gandhi, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and

also on the legendary Indian director Satyajit

Ray.

He also directed some important television

series, including "Yatra" on the Indian

Railways, and the epic "Bharat Ek Khoj",

about the history of India, which attracted a

huge viewership around the country.

His most recent film "Welcome to

Sajjanpur", released this year, is a rural tale,

studded with social touches, which has

excited the contemporary generation of

moviegoers.

The director is at present working on an

adaptation of "Carmen", called "Chamki", with

a lively Indian gypsy girl playing the lead.

After all, the musical is one of the few genres

he has not attempted as yet.

There's also a lot of excitement about his

plans to make a film on the life of the Buddha,

which will be an international production.

Judging by the masterful biographies he has

made till now, it's a film that the film community

should look out for.

Shyam Benegal did his master's in economics

before launching his career in film

at an advertising company.

Ever since he was presented with a

camera at the age of 12, the director has

been clicking. Benegal's illustrious

three-decade career includes 20 features,

70 shorts/documentaries and

about 900 advertisements. A phenomenal feat.

The Lotus Award will be one

more accolade for this outstanding

Indian director who has

received his country's top honours,

the Padma Shri in 1976,

the Padma Bhushan in 1991 and

the Dada Sahib Phalke Award in

2005.

As for India's prestigious

National Awards, Benegal has

won them for seven films, an

unmatched feat in his country.

For film buffs, the Benegal

retrospective at the World

Film Festival is a rare, notto-

be-missed cinematic package.

The modest, soft-spoken director speaks

about the event and other matters in this

exclusive interview:

How special is it to get two awards in Bangkok, so

close to each other?

All awards are special. They are emblems of

recognition. The Bangkok awards are even

more so, as they indicate that my work is being

recognised outside my country as well.

Have you got any comments on Thai cinema?

Alas, I have not seen enough of Thai cinema to

comment on it.

How would you describe your role in

Indian cinema, as the progenitor of the

"art" or of "parallel" cinema? Do these

two distinctions still exist?

I don't see it as anything special. The environment

and historical conditions helped a

great deal when I made my first films. Thank

God, there are no distinctions any more!

Are you proud to have "discovered" great talents

like Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah and others?

I am lucky that these great artists began

their careers with me.

How have you changed or evolved as a director

now?

I've grown older, more experienced, I guess,

but not necessarily wiser!

Please tell us more about the film on the Buddha

that you are planning to make?

It's a project that I have been planning for a

long time. The casting has not yet begun, as

we are still working on the script. But it will be

an international production.

Is Asian cinema the "flavour" of the moment. And if

so, why?

Yes, it is. I guess that the Western world has

discovered that Asian cinema has a lot to offer.

Who are your own favourite Asian directors?

Zhang Yimou, Wong Kar Wai, Kim ki Duk, to

name a few.

How do film festivals help to promote regional cinema?

They are important because they open

an international window to regional

cinema.