Shyam Benegal, a renowned Indian filmmaker known for pioneering a cinema movement that tackled social issues in the 1970s, has died after chronic kidney disease

Benegal, celebrated for classics like Ankur and Manthan, shaped Indian cinema with socially impactful storytelling

Shyam Benegal came out of nowhere and lit up the Hindi film scene in the 1970s at a time when the industry was “an absolutely closed shop”. His debut

Through his films, Shyam Benegal gave voice to the subaltern, often placing women or people from downtrodden communities at the centre of his narratives

His lens empathetic, rooted to Indian reality and always political, Shyam Benegal was the arthouse pioneer who rewrote the rules of cinema with films such as “Ankur”, “Nishant” and “Bhumika” that blaz