Cinema of Shyam Benegal
Amitabha Bhattacharya
REFOCUS: THE FILMS OF SHYAM BENEGAL by Sneha Kar Chaudhuri and Ramit Samaddar (ed.) Orient BlackSwan, 2023, 255 pp., INR 1050
August 2023, volume 47, No 8

The release of Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali (1955) is often regarded as having heralded a new era of Indian cinema. Its impact was perceptible, but not immediate in so far as film-making in Hindi was concerned. On account of various contributory factors, a crop of talented film-makers started emerging from the late sixties and early seventies. Inspired by the success of Ray in India and abroad, and often supported by state funding, these young directors took up the challenge of crafting meaningful and realistic films—at that time known as parallel cinema—and proved their mettle. Among those who could sustain their interest and churn out competent films, one after another, in the decades to follow, Shyam Benegal (born 1934) has been a force to reckon with.

In an influential essay titled Four and a Quarter (1974), Satyajit Ray analysed four feature films—Garm Hava, Maya Darpan, Duvidha and Ankur—the first three having been made under the Film Finance Corporation, and Ankur being privately financed. Although marked by very mild criticism and a piece of advice, Ray’s response to Benegal’s first feature was warm and appreciative. ‘Story apart, Ankur has enough qualities to make one look forward to Benegal’s future with keen anticipation. For one thing, he shows great confidence in the handling of two major elements of film making: acting and camera…’

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