Veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal was cremated with full state honours at Dadar’s Shivaji Park crematorium this afternoon. The 90-year-old filmmaker had breathed his last at a Mumbai hospital yesterday evening, where he was admitted for a chronic kidney disease.
Shyam Benegal’s wife, Nira, and daughter, Pia, were joined by many of his contemporaries and artists across generations to pay their last respects. Prominent among those who were present for the funeral were Naseeruddin Shah, Gulzar, Javed Akhtar, Ila Arun, Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Divya Dutta, Shreyas Talpade, Boman Irani, Kunal Kapoor, and Anang Desai.
The pioneer of parallel cinema in India, Shyam Benegal was known for timeless classics like “Ankur,” “Mandi,” “Nishant,” and “Junoon.” He received numerous awards and recognition for his work on the national as well as the international stage. Besides winning the National Film Award for numerous films, Mr. Benegal was also awarded the Padma Shri in 1976 and the Padma Bhushan in 1991. The veteran filmmaker was honoured with India’s highest award in the field of cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, in 2005.
Meanwhile, tributes continue to pour in with Amitabh Bachchan, Nafisa Ali, Karisma Kapoor, and Ajay Devgn remembering the stalwart and legend for his contribution to Indian cinema.