Veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal breathed his last today (23rd December) at 6.38 p.m. in Bombay at Wockhardt Hospital due to a kidney ailment. He had turned 90 on 14th December.
Often regarded as one of the pioneers of parallel cinema in India, Benegal had won a total of 18 National Film Awards. He was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2005. He was conferred the Padma Shri in 1976, and the Padma Bhushan in 1991, both for his immense contribution in the field of arts.
Among his well-known and path-breaking films are Ankur, Mandi, Nishant, Manthan, Bhumika, Junoon, Zubeidaa, Sardari Begum, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero and Well Done Abba. His last film was Mujib: The Making Of A Nation which was an Indo-Bangladesh co-production.