Renowned filmmaker and father of parallel cinema Shyam Benegal passed away recently. There was a time in his life 50 years ago when he made a film by taking only two rupees each from 5 lakh farmers. This movie was ‘Manthan’ (1976). It was inspired by Varghese Kurian’s milk cooperative movement. Five lakh dairy farmers contributed two rupees each to make this film. People from villages used to go by trucks to see this film.
Actually, this 1976 film was made on Dudh Kranti. The co-writer of the film was Dr. Vergej Kurian. In 1970, Varghese launched Operation Flood, which led to the White Revolution in India and made India the world’s largest milk producer. Seeing this, Shyam Benegal decided to make a film on it. In the era of masala films, no producer was willing to spend money on such a story. In such a situation, Vargij sought the help of two cooperative societies of villages with which 5 lakh farmers were associated. Each farmer contributed two rupees each for the film, which raised around one million rupees. The film ‘Manthan’ was made with this amount. Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah, Girish Karnad and Kulbhushan Kharbanda played important roles in it. The film won two National Awards for Best Feature Film and Best Screenplay. The film was nominated for an Oscar that year in the Best Feature Film category.
Eight times National Film Award winner Shyam Benegal gave Hindi cinema a distinct identity with films like ‘Ankur’, ‘Nishant’, ‘Bhumika’ and ‘Mandi’ apart from ‘Manthan’. Through these films, he has shown a mirror to the society. Benegal’s TV series ‘Yatra’, ‘Katha Sagar’ and ‘Bharat: Ek Khoja’ were very popular. He started working under his photographer father Sridhar B at the age of 12. He shot his first film at the age of 12 with his father’s camera. Legendary Indian film director Satyajit Ray was an admirer of his talent.
Apart from the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan, Benegal, who has been honored with the Dadasaheb Phalke, the highest award of Indian cinema, has directed ‘Zubaida’, ‘The Making of Mahatma’, ‘Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero’, ‘Arohan’, ‘Welcome to the Sajjanpur’. Made films like His film career began in 1974 with the direction of the film ‘Ankur’. The film was based on social issues. This film brought him international recognition. ‘Ankur’ won more than 40 national and international awards. The film highlighted controversial issues like feudalism and sexual exploitation. Along with Shyam, it was also Shabana Azmi’s first film.
His films were based on social and political themes. ‘Janoon’ (1979) is a story set during the country’s independence movement. The film depicts a forbidden love story between a British woman (Nafisa Ali) and a passionate Pathan (Shashi Kapoor). The film ‘Sooraj Ka Satvan Ghoda’ (1992), based on Dharamveer Bharti’s novel, also presented a unique story. ‘Ek Kunwara’ (Ranjit Kapoor) tells the stories of three women from different social classes who have influenced his life. Each of its characters was different and symbolized the diverse fabric of society. The film Bhumika, inspired by the memoirs of Marathi actress Hansa Wadkar, delves into themes of personal identity, feminism and relationship conflicts. ‘Mandi’ (1983) satirically comments on prostitution and politics. It depicts a prostitute’s struggle against social and political pressures. ‘Kalyug’ is a movie inspired by Mahabharata. It indicates rivalry between a family over business.
Known as the pioneer of the parallel cinema movement, Benegal was also in 2018. Shantaram was honored with Lifetime Achievement Award. His direction and themes of films will continue to inspire the Hindi cinema world in the future as well.
-Punjabi News-Patiala feature