Shyam Benegal is one of the major personalities of the "new cinema" in India. His father gifted him a movie camera when he was twelve, which is when his interest in the cinema was kindled. He has a Master's in Economics and has worked in advertising. According to recent count, he has made 21 feature films, 45 documentaries (including the epic 53-hour documentary, Bharat Ek Khoj (the Discovery of India) and over 1000 commercial film-lets. Shabana Azmi, the late Smita Patil, Girish Karnad, Om Puri and Amrish Puri got their break in Benegal's films. In addition to several national and international awards for his films, Benegal has been recipient of the Indian Padma Shree and the Padma Bhusan. He was in Kathmandu in early October to chair the Jury of the Film South Asia festival of documentaries. Shyam Benegal took some time off to discuss his vision of the cinema, the responses his films have evoked, the relationship between film and literature and some aspects of the South Asian film market.
Benegal spoke of his concern for contemporary political and social issues and how most of his films reflected these concerns. His first feature film, Ankur (Seedling) in 1974, which introduced Shabana Azmi, dealt with social and gender discrimination in feudalistic society in rural India. Manthan (The churning) in 1976 dealt with social mobilisation and empowerment— concepts of the South Asian development dialogue—of rural dairy farmers and their struggle against exploitation.
Benegal conceded that the cinema or individual films were not capable of really effecting huge political and social changes in India or anywhere else. He was convinced, however, that the film was a powerful medium for "bringing to the fore, subjects which otherwise would be lost to public discourse. Cinema can give social urgency and highlight the need to deal with the plight of groups who have no lobbies. That is the primary thing politically and socially conscious cinema can do. You have to work towards an attitudinal change. This must be preceded by a change in perception. It won't happen with one film. It is a process."
The director has sought to reach out to audiences beyond those already conscious and aware – "people of the same feather" as Benegal described them. "Film must be engaging, engrossing to a very large number of people. Films must entertain. Popular acceptance and appeal is essential." Ankur, his first film, was commercially successful in India and did well in showings all over the world.