Shyam Benegal

Shyam Benegal December 14 1934December 23 2024 was a prolific Indian director and screenwriter With his first four feature films Ankur 1973 Nishant 1975 Manthan 1976 and Bhumika 1977 he created a new genre which has now come to be called the middle cinema in India although he himself has expressed dislike in the term preferring his work to be called New or Alternate cinema He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1976 and the Padma Bhushan in 1991 On 8 August 2007 he was awarded the highest award in Indian cinema for lifetime achievement the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2005 He has won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi seven times Benegal died of kidney disease on 23 December 2024 in Mumbai and is survived by his daughter