स्मृति शेष- पैरेलल सिनेमा के जनक श्याम बेनेगल: खाली वक्त में जादुई संसार में टहलते; कहते थे- हर कथा-कविता से फिल्म बन सकती है

Film critic Jaiprakash Chouksey had written an article 3 years ago on Shyam Benegal, the father of parallel cinema. Jaiprakash Chouksey used to write a column named ‘Parde ke Peechee’ for Dainik Bhaskar. His column was published in Dainik Bhaskar continuously for two decades. This article of Chouksey ji is relevant again on the demise of Benegal. That’s why we are publishing it again today.

“You will wander somewhere without any reason, you will return here after your journey.”

Filmmaker Shyam Benegal is a well-known name in the world of documentary filmmaking. It is noteworthy that the great filmmaker Guru Dutt was the son of Shyam Benegal’s uncle. Shyam was born in a middle income group family. His father was fond of still photography and often took pictures of children at home. It is known that Dadasaheb Phalke, the father of narrative films in India, had also taken many photographs of sprouted plants growing in pots.

Guru Dutt had given his story ‘Kashmakash’ to Shyam Benegal’s mother to read. He felt that the story was good but it would be difficult to make a film inspired by it. A few years later, ‘Kashmakash’ was remade as ‘Pyaasa’ and it created history.

However, Shyam Benegal worked in a company called Blaze which made advertising films. This company raised funds for him to make his first narrative film ‘Ankur’. In the last scene of ‘Ankur’, Shabana’s young son throws stones at the landlord’s mansion. Goya’s Shyam Benegal’s films also fall like a stone on the Sheesh Mahal of evils.

Anant Nag, Mohan Agashe, Amrish Puri, Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah and Smita Patil with (left to right) Shyam Benegal on the sets of the film Nishant.

Shyam made more than a dozen narrative films. Made documentaries on Pandit Nehru and Satyajit Ray. Shyam was greatly influenced by Satyajit Ray’s films. Shyam researched Nehru’s book for two years to make a show called ‘Discovery of India’.

Nehru’s book also contained details of Ramayana and Mahabharata, which were shown in the serial with simplicity. Shyam Benegal directed the multi-starrer film ‘Junoon’ for Shashi Kapoor, taking inspiration from Ruskin Bond’s novel ‘Pigeons are Flying’.

Shashi Kapoor used to provide five star hotel facilities to his film unit. Shyam Benegal repeatedly explained to Shashi Kapoor that the viewership of his films was limited and spending so much could lead to losses. But Shashi Kapoor was obsessed with making meaningful cinema on a grand scale. He had learned from his brother how to bring grandeur to films but he forgot that his elder brother had never ignored the box office success.

Shyam Benegal kept the magical charm of Shabana’s personality intact even in simple attire in ‘Ankur’. Shyam had made the film ‘Manthan’ with Smita Patil for a cooperative organization. Today we cannot do any work inspired by the ideal of co-operation because we have become accustomed to being governed by division. It is known that even after achieving success in films, he continued to work simply in his office.

This expresses his thinking style. Shyam used to get lost in the memories of the past by looking at the still pictures of his father. His father had kept a 16mm projector in the house. The whole family used to watch movies on Sundays.

It is clear that Shyam Benegal used to wander in the magical world even in his free time. He was honored with many national and international awards, but he maintained his humility. He made a narrative film based on Dharam Veer Bharti’s short novel ‘Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda’. He believes that a film can be made inspired by every story and poem. Just like the poetry of Dharamveer Bharti, Shyam knew that ‘you will wander somewhere without any reason, you will return here after your journey.’ This is similar to the experience of the hero of the novel The Alchemist.

(Film critic, writer Jaiprakash Chowksey died in Indore on March 2, 2022 at the age of 83.)