As Shyam Benegal turns 89 on December 14, Subhash K Jha takes a look at 10 of his best films and tells you where you can watch them.
Ankur (1974)
Where to watch? YouTube
Many film buffs, including me, regard Shyam Benegal’s Ankur as the most influential Indian film since Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali.
Its depiction of feudal tyranny and sexual oppression was unique to Indian cinema, as was the naturalistic performances by Shabana Azmi, Sadhu Meher and Anant Nag.
Shabana went on to become India’s most powerful dramatic actress, and to think she got the role only because Waheeda Rehman was scared to play an adultress!
Ankur and its neo-realism were widely accepted. The film was a commercial success.
Nishant (1975)
Where to watch? Amazon Prime Video
A year after Ankur, Benegal broke the mould again with this dark and devastating study of rural fascism.
School teacher Girish Karnad’s wife Shabana Azmi is abducted and repeatedly raped by zamindar Amrish Puri.
The film gave us a gallery of fresh acting greats, including Naseeruddin Shah and Smita Patil.
Manthan (1976)
Where to watch? ZEE5
Made to support Verghese Kurien’s milk co-operative movement Amul, the film’s propagandist’s undercurrents are firmly prevented from barging into the plot’s cinematic qualities.
The plot about an activist-doctor (Girish Karnad) encouraging the women of an impoverished village in Gujarat to become self-sufficient is a coiling collage of arresting anecdotes.
To this day, this wonderful slice-of-life cinema’s revolutionary resonances echo a message of social equality.
Smita Patil’s portrayal of the rural Gujarati woman was to originally go to Shabana Azmi, but she had had a fight with her mentor.
Bhumika (1977)
Where to watch? YouTube
A powerful bio-pic on the 1940s’ Marathi actress Hansa Wadkar, Benegal sees her life through the various men who tried to smother her spirit.
Smita Patil plays the protagonist with a mix of dilemma and sensuality.
She had remarkable male support in Amol Palekar, Anant Nag and Amrish Puri. This is Benegal’s most seductive film.
Junoon(1979)
Benegal’s association with Producer-Actor Shashi Kapoor yielded two outstanding films.
Based on Ruskin Bond’s novella, Junoon was a tumultuous epic story of forbidden love between a passionate Pathan (Shashi Kapoor) and a British beauty (Nafisa Ali) during the time of the freedom movement.
Curiously, Shashi’s talented wife Jennifer starred as Nafisa’s mother while Shabana Azmi, almost doing a reprise of her role in Satyajit Ray’s Shatranj Ke Khiladi, played Shashi’s sultry wife.
This was Benegal’s most lavish presentation to date shot in panoramic frames that caught the turbulence of a passion that replicated the mood of the times.
Kalyug (1981)
Culled from the Mahabharat, the film about two warring families caught in a corporate war suffers from excessive characters.
Even the elaborate family-tree graph at the beginning can’t help us to keep track of who’s who.
Nonetheless, the film’s energetic pacing and brilliant actors made this second collaboration between Benegal and Shashi Kapoor worth a watch.
Mandi (1983)
Where to watch? Amazon Prime Video
A gorgeous gallery of female actors playing sex workers, who actually enjoy what they do, Mandi had Shabana Azmi as the Madame of the brothel and Smita Patil as her favourite girl.
This is sexual politics at its delectable best.
Srijit Mukherjee’s recent Bangla film Rajkahini is directly inspired by Mandi.
Trikal (1985)
Where to watch? Amazon Prime Video
Set during the last days of Portuguese domination in Goa, this sumptuous feast for the eyes featured Leela Naidu as a graceful matriarch trying to keep her family from falling apart.
Ashok Mehta’s cinematography was an asset.
Susman (1987)
Where to watch? YouTube
Splendidly spotlighting the poverty of handloom weavers in Andhra Pradesh, this evocative film featured Om Puri in his career’s best performances (yes, superior to what he achieved in Aakrosh and Ardh Satya).
Om learnt how to use the weaving loom for months before facing the camera.
Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda (1993)
Where to watch? YouTube
A rare multi-worded title (Benegal prefers one-worded titles) based on a novel by Hindi litterateur Dharmvir Bharati, this complex source material was filmed with a fluent grace missing from most movie adaptations of literary works.
Rajit Kapur, in a finely nuanced performance, played a man evaluating his life through his relationship with three women (Rajshri Sachdev, Neena Gupta and Pallavi Joshi).
A tough film to make, made ostensibly simple and graceful by a film-maker who never hid his narrative intentions under reams of metaphors and ambiguities.
This directness of approach was progressively amplified. It diluted the impact of some of Benegal’s later works.
Source: Read Full Article