Hyderabad, Dec 23 (IANS) Shyam Benegal, the pioneer of India’s parallel cinema who passed away on Monday at the age of 90, had a special attachment to Hyderabad, a city where he had his roots.
Even six decades after leaving Hyderabad, the legendary filmmaker always enjoyed being in the city of Nizams where he was born and educated.
However, in recent years, he has lamented the disappearance of historical landmarks due to unplanned growth and admitted that he lost emotional resonance with the place after losing his friends.
The Dadasaheb Phalke awardee’s tryst with filmmaking began as a teenager in Hyderabad, and he later returned to make some of his well-known movies.
The doyen of filmmaking had a special feeling for Telangana culture and his movies like Ankur, Nishant, and Mandi were set here.
For Benegal, both Hyderabad and Telangana had a special place. He often used to say the historic city has a distinct character and composite culture that no other city can boast of. He also stated on many occasions that the cultural character of Telangana always appealed to him.
It was in the Moula-Ali area in Hyderabad where some of Benegal’s earlier movies were made. The eminent director had a house in the same area.
Benegal, who studied M.A. at Nizam College, a constituent of Osmania University, also had fond memories of the Sainikpuri area where Ankur and Mandi were shot.
The filmmaker, who directed one Telugu movie ‘Anugraham’ (1978), revealed that he understands Telugu but had difficulty in speaking the language.
He believed that Hyderabad changed dramatically after the 1980s. During a visit about a decade ago, he had said that Hyderabad he knew was a different place.
“Everything has changed. Only names have remained,” he had once said.
During an interaction with students of Annapurna International School of Film and Media in 2013, he shared his experiences of his journey in cinema.
He advised young filmmakers to be interested in the world around them, observe other people, listen to them and notice the shades of emotions that change in the conversation.
“Learn enough about society, like who you are. India is such a diverse country that one lifetime is not enough. You have to learn. Every day is a learning day. Don’t think you have learnt enough. I don’t think that even for a second. For me, tomorrow is the day I have to start from scratch. I am blessed because of that. It doesn’t allow me to be complacent,” he had said.
“Filmmaking is such an exciting thing. Here I get an opportunity to actually play god. How many professions you get that opportunity? When you make a film, you are creating that world which anybody can partake of by just sitting there. But if you write, the person has to read that,” he had told the students.
–IANS
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