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Western India with Shyam Benegal
Portraying India
Perceptions of India, inspired by the lives of those who embody its most authentic spirit
In this edition, we look at Western India from the perspective of filmmaker and documentarian, Shyam Benegal.
Shyam Benegal expanded the idea of what Indian cinema could present. It could entertain, certainly, but it could also explore, question, reconstruct history and make room for uncomfortable conversations. He looked beyond the India of grand stories and larger-than-life heroes, at the India of villages, families, workers, women, farmers and people negotiating the systems around them. The ordinary, often uncomfortable parts of Indian life. In his words, “I film to report on changes in the world around us”.
His works found appreciative audiences at home and abroad, garnered many awards (18 National Film Awards, Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s highest honour in cinema), and earned representation at film festivals of Cannes, Berlin, and Moscow. Shyam Benegal’s legacy lies in his socially conscious storytelling, creating an ecosystem of actors, writers, cinematographers and composers around a new Indian cinema.
His works found appreciative audiences at home and abroad, garnered many awards (18 National Film Awards, Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s highest honour in cinema), and earned representation at film festivals of Cannes, Berlin, and Moscow. Shyam Benegal’s legacy lies in his socially conscious storytelling, creating an ecosystem of actors, writers, cinematographers and composers around a new Indian cinema.
The India He Grew Up In
Director Shyam Benegal (R) and cinematographer Govind Nihalani on the set.
Born in the Secunderabad region of Hyderabad (now in Telangana) in 1934, Shyam Benegal grew up in the shadows of his father, a photographer. The enigmatic filmmaker and actor Guru Dutt was among his relatives. At twelve, he made a little film of his own using his father’s 16mm camera, casting his cousins and experimenting with reverse motion and other tricks. While studying economics at Osmania University, he started the Hyderabad Film Club. He watched Soviet filmmakers Sergei Eisenstein and Vsevolod Pudovkin, Japanese cinema, British filmmakers and Italian Neorealism, and became particularly taken with Satyajit Ray. He first encountered Pather Panchali in Kolkata in the 1950s, and returned to the cinema several times to watch it, struck by the depth conveyed through the everyday lives of its characters.
After university, he moved to Bombay. Here, for over a decade, he made hundreds of advertisements and industrial films, on subjects that ranged from steel production and music to epilepsy and cattle breeding. It sounds like an oddly long apprenticeship, but it took him well beyond the Bombay studio world. He was travelling, observing and meeting people whose lives would rarely become the subject of a feature film. His time as a creative head of an ad agency exposed him he learnt storytelling through realism, a trait he later applied to fiction. At 39, after years in advertising, he finally made the film he had written much earlier.
After university, he moved to Bombay. Here, for over a decade, he made hundreds of advertisements and industrial films, on subjects that ranged from steel production and music to epilepsy and cattle breeding. It sounds like an oddly long apprenticeship, but it took him well beyond the Bombay studio world. He was travelling, observing and meeting people whose lives would rarely become the subject of a feature film. His time as a creative head of an ad agency exposed him he learnt storytelling through realism, a trait he later applied to fiction. At 39, after years in advertising, he finally made the film he had written much earlier.
The India He Began to See
Satyajit Ray being interviewed by Shyam Benegal for a 1982 documentary.
When he finally made Ankur (The Seedling) in 1974, the gaze travelled to rural India. Set in Andhra Pradesh, the film centred on a young woman caught within a feudal system of caste, labour and power. Shabana Azmi made her screen debut here as the protagonist. As there were no larger-than-life heroes to carry this story, the circumstances themselves were the drama. He followed it with Nishant (Night’s End) in 1975, moving deeper into questions of land, class and sexual violence. Next in line was Manthan (The Churning), set in the Anand region of Gujarat, capturing the genesis of White Revolution (the dairy cooperative movement) associated with Verghese Kurien. More than half a million dairy farmers contributed towards its production. His concerns changed with the country around him. After the Bombay riots of 1992–93, his films Mammo, Sardari Begum and Zubeidaa talked about the lives of Muslim women and the social worlds around them.
Television became another way of reaching people. In Yatra (Journey), he followed the country’s long-distance train journeys, observing the communities, religions, languages and people that met along the way. And, then there was Bharat Ek Khoj, his extraordinary 53-part television series based on Jawaharlal Nehru’s book The Discovery of India, which attempted to bring thousands of years of Indian history into people’s homes. This was perhaps one of the most intriguing thing about him: not to have just one definition of “serious cinema”. And, he understood that films which question a society’s values may not always be the films that become the easiest to consume. As he put it in a BBC interview, “When you make a film that contests a whole value system, obviously you shouldn’t expect that to be exceedingly popular.”
Yet the films travelled. Ankur reached Berlin. Nishant reached Cannes. Manthan was later screened at Berlin, and in 2024, nearly fifty years after its release, its restored print returned to Cannes Classics.
Television became another way of reaching people. In Yatra (Journey), he followed the country’s long-distance train journeys, observing the communities, religions, languages and people that met along the way. And, then there was Bharat Ek Khoj, his extraordinary 53-part television series based on Jawaharlal Nehru’s book The Discovery of India, which attempted to bring thousands of years of Indian history into people’s homes. This was perhaps one of the most intriguing thing about him: not to have just one definition of “serious cinema”. And, he understood that films which question a society’s values may not always be the films that become the easiest to consume. As he put it in a BBC interview, “When you make a film that contests a whole value system, obviously you shouldn’t expect that to be exceedingly popular.”
Yet the films travelled. Ankur reached Berlin. Nishant reached Cannes. Manthan was later screened at Berlin, and in 2024, nearly fifty years after its release, its restored print returned to Cannes Classics.
A still from Manthan (The Churning). © Film Heritage Foundation
Dr. Verghese Kurien was concerned about investing 10 lakh rupees from the co-operative on a movie and preferred that the people of the co-operative were included in the decision-making. This prompted Shyam Benegal and him to come up with the idea of crowdfunding Manthan by requesting ₹2 donation from each of the 500,000 milk farmers. The farmers were excited that a Hindi film was being made on their lives and readily agreed. Manthan raised ₹1 million in less than a week and became the first-ever crowdfunded movie in India (possibly in the world).
“I would say that I am not interested in form to begin with. I’m interested in the subject, and density. How telling can you make your images and how much can you pack into a film without using gimmicks.”"
The India He Put on Screen
Shyam Benegal (L) with the cast of Nishant (Night’s End)
Shyam Benegal passed away in Mumbai in December 2024. By then, the term “parallel cinema” had become synonymous with his name. He had made feature films, documentaries, advertisements and television shows, while changing the range of subjects who could appear at the centre. Actors like Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri all found some of their most defining roles in his work, alongside writers, cinematographers, musicians and other collaborators who helped shape the new Indian cinema. Artists found in his work a space for complexity and experimentation. Although his films could be serious and politically engaged, Shyam Benegal did not believe that seriousness had to mean solemnity. Humour, irony and ordinary human absurdity often found their way into his stories.
That may explain why Manthan could return to Cannes almost fifty years after its release and still feel relevant. His engagement with society extended beyond filmmaking. He served as a Council of States member, supported the Naz Foundation’s work for gay rights. Perhaps the most fitting way to understand his legacy is through the scale of his way of seeing. One contemporary described Shyam Benegal’s body of work as coming close to another kind of Discovery of India. It is a fitting thought. As he reflected late in life: “I consider myself a realist, neither optimistic nor pessimistic.”
That may explain why Manthan could return to Cannes almost fifty years after its release and still feel relevant. His engagement with society extended beyond filmmaking. He served as a Council of States member, supported the Naz Foundation’s work for gay rights. Perhaps the most fitting way to understand his legacy is through the scale of his way of seeing. One contemporary described Shyam Benegal’s body of work as coming close to another kind of Discovery of India. It is a fitting thought. As he reflected late in life: “I consider myself a realist, neither optimistic nor pessimistic.”
Discovering Western India
An Evening Along the Marine Drive in Bombay, 1970s
Western India was not divided into Maharashtra and Gujarat as it is today. Much of the region was part of the large State, with Bombay at its centre. Bombay was a busy port and commercial centre. Further inland were the Deccan plateau and farming districts. Gujarat stretched west towards the Arabian Sea, with fertile agricultural regions, dry countryside and long trading links along the coast. People moved through this geography for work, trade and opportunity. Bombay drew workers, merchants, artists and migrants from across the region. Language and regional identity shaped lives. By the late 1950s, these differences had become a major political question, and in 1960 Bombay State was divided into Maharashtra and Gujarat.
This was the Western India that formed the backdrop to Shyam Benegal’s early life and the world he would later return to through his films.
This was the Western India that formed the backdrop to Shyam Benegal’s early life and the world he would later return to through his films.
Heritage Cinemas of Bombay
Bombay’s historic cinema halls reflect the city’s long relationship with the big screen and its heroes, pop culture and architecture. Discover some of its surviving picture palaces and their grand Art Deco interiors, like Liberty Cinema to the older theatres of South Bombay. You can experience a Bollywood show in the cinema of your liking.
The Artisan Villages of Kutch
In Kutch, the villages around Bhuj are home to communities who practice Ajrakh block printing, weaving, hand embroidery and other sustainable crafts. In a visit to these artisan families and workshops, see the step by step making of these textiles. Each community has developed its own distinctive techniques, patterns and visual language.
The Girgaon Chronicles
In the streets and wadis (micro hamlets) of Girgaon, lies a melting pot of communities and cultures. A guided walk here lets you pass through its old wadis, a 400-year-old Portuguese church, and one of Mumbai’s oldest fire temples. Along the way, hear stories of the people who have called them home before ending at Chowpatty and conversations on how new development is reshaping Girgaon’s old wadis.
Kathiyawadi Food of Saurashtra
Saurashtra’s dry landscape offers a rich spread of warm millet breads with smoky edges, vegetables cooked with plenty of garlic, tangy pickles and spiced chutneys. To temper the heat, locals pair it with cool buttermilk. In Rajkot, sample a plate before heading out to explore some of the residents’ favourite spots to discover a range of flavours. Pick up a few spices along the way to take home.
Recommendations for Further Exploration
To Watch
Portrait of the director by Prasar Bharati Archives
Manthan – The Story of India’s Milk Revolution
Bharat Ek Khoj (The Discovery of India) | Episode-1 | by Prasar Bharati Archives
Satyajit Ray (1982) | Documentary
Shyam Benegal Movies – Immortal Classics A Playlist by Shemroo
Portrait of the director by Prasar Bharati Archives
Manthan – The Story of India’s Milk Revolution
Bharat Ek Khoj (The Discovery of India) | Episode-1 | by Prasar Bharati Archives
Satyajit Ray (1982) | Documentary
Shyam Benegal Movies – Immortal Classics A Playlist by Shemroo
To Read
The Restoration of Manthan by Film Heritage Foundation
Interview: Why filmmaking for Shyam Benegal is both ‘a microscope and a telescope’
The Restoration of Manthan by Film Heritage Foundation
Interview: Why filmmaking for Shyam Benegal is both ‘a microscope and a telescope’
At Tushita, we marvel at India with you. After nearly 50 years of travelling through the country, we’re still enamoured by its beauty every day. From Ladakh, where Tushita was anointed by a Buddhist monk in 1977, to Tamil Nadu, where we worked with locals to showcase one of the oldest cultures in the world, we are partners in your journey to discover our part of the world.
Where should we go today?
Where should we go today?