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Shyam Benegal passes away: Legendary filmmaker laid to rest with state honors; Naseeruddin Shah, Gulzar, Boman Irani and more bid emotional farewell
The legendary filmmaker, Shyam Benegal was laid to rest with state honors. Bollywood celebrities including Naseeruddin Shah, Gulzar, Boman Irani and more bid him an emotional farewell.
Trigger Warning: This article contains mention of death.
Legendary filmmaker Shyam Benegal who is also known as the pioneer of the Indian parallel cinema, passed away on December 23, 2024, at the age of 90. On Tuesday, the filmmaker’s last rites were carried out at the Shivaji Park Electric Crematorium in Mumbai with state honors. Several notable personalities including Shabana Azmi, Gulzaar, Divya Dutta, and Naseeruddin Shah among others arrived to bid him an emotional adieu.
On December 24, legendary filmmaker Shyam Benegal was laid to rest with full state honors. His incredible contribution to Indian cinema will be remembered for the generations to come. In one of the videos, the Indian National flag was draped over the mortal remains of the late director while a band blew the trumpets in his honor.
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In another video, we can also see close friends and actors Naseeruddin Shah, Gulzar, Javed Akhtar, Rajit Kapoor, Boman Irani, and others getting emotional while they attend the last rites. The videos have been consistently doing rounds on the internet.
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On Monday, the filmmaker’s daughter, Pia Benegal confirmed the news of the filmmaker’s passing to India Today. He was reportedly suffering from a chronic kidney-related ailment and took his last breath at 6:30 PM. He was admitted to Wockhardt Hospital in Mumbai for treatment.
Soon after the heartbreaking news broke, several celebrities including Amitabh Bachchan, Karisma Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor, Sham Kaushal, Shabana Azmi, and more took to their respective social media handles to mourn the loss.
Shabana Azmi, who made her acting debut with Benegal’s directorial; Ankur also expressed her grief over his passing away. While speaking with PTI, she said, “Shyam Benegal has been my guru in everything, not just in acting but in the way I view the world.”
She remembered her experience of going abroad for their film, Ankur at the Berlin Film Festival. As a young kid, she recalled how she wanted to run to the first shopping place with stars in her eyes. She revealed, that Benegal, on the other hand, was more interested in learning about the city's history and culture than in shopping. She described him as a “progressive” and “well-informed” filmmaker who opened her up to new perspectives.
Shyam Benegal is credited for remarkable content-driven films like Ankur, Mandi (1983), and Zubeidaa (2001) among others.
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