Shyam Benegal family tree: Veteran film industry director Shyam Benegal passed away at 6.30 pm. He was 90 years old and was ill for a long time. The news of Shyam Benegal’s demise has shocked the film industry. In relation, he seemed to be a cousin of veteran artist Guru Dutt. This news is even more surprising because Shyam Benegal had celebrated his 90th birthday with his friends and family on 14th December.
Born on December 14, 1934 in Hyderabad, Shyam Benegal belonged to the family of veteran artist and director Guru Dutt. Guru Dutt’s maternal grandmother and Benegal’s grandmother were sisters. In this respect, Shyam Benegal was Guru Dutt’s cousin. It is said that Shyam Benegal was fond of films since childhood and he developed this hobby because of his father Shridhar Benegal. Actually, Sridhar Benegal, resident of Karnataka, was a well-known photographer. Therefore, he got fond of camera after seeing his father and he made his first film with his father’s camera at the age of 12.
Who all in the family?
Renowned Indian cinema director Shyam Benegal is married to Neera Benegal and has a daughter, Pia Benegal. Pia Benegal is a costume designer by profession and has worked for many films. Shayan Benegal is remembered for many memorable films of Hindi cinema, among which films like Ankur, Nishant, Manthan, Zubaida, Welcome to Sajjanpur, Bhumika are the main ones. Many of his films have also received National Awards. Apart from this, Shyam Benegal was awarded with honors like Padma Shri in 1976 and Padma Bhushan in 1991. Apart from this, in 2007 he was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest award of Indian cinema.
Many great artists gave to Hindi cinema
Shyam Benegal is considered one of the leading directors of parallel cinema. He gave many big artists to Hindi cinema. Among them, names like Nasruddin Shah, Om Puri, Amrish Puri, Anant Nagar, Shabana Azmi, Smita Patthal, cinematographer Govind Nihalani are prominent.