Shyam Benegal, known as the father of the Indian parallel cinema movement, is no longer with us. He said goodbye to this world on December 23 at the age of 90. The 18-time National Award-winning director's last rites are being performed on December 24 at Shivaji Park Electric Crematorium in Mumbai. Preparations for his last rites are also underway and along with this Bollywood stars arrived for his last visit. For the unversed, Shyam Benegal was suffering from age-related and kidney problems for a long time.
Stars arrived for the last rites
Shabana Azmi shared information about the filmmaker's funeral on her Instagram Stories on Tuesday. The statement signed by Shyam Benegal's children Neera and Pia Benegal said that the funeral will begin at 2 pm at Shivaji Park Electric Crematorium. Now many videos before the funeral have also surfaced. In a video that has surfaced, Naseeruddin Shah can be seen looking at the director's body. The actor seemed very emotional while giving the last farewell to Shyam Benegal. During this, many veteran stars like Rajat Kapoor, Ratna Pathak Shah and Kunal Kapoor can also be spotted. Many celebrities from the film industry are arriving for the final farewell.
Benegal celebrated his 90th birthday this month
Let us tell you that Shyam Benegal turned 90 on December 14. On this special occasion, he also celebrated his birthday with his close friends and colleagues from the film world. In one of the videos, he was seen smiling while sitting on a chair among his friends. Shabana Azmi was also seen sitting next to him. The pictures of this celebration went viral and were also discussed a lot.
Made history with these films
Let us tell you, Shyam Benegal started his film journey with the film 'Ankur' released in the year 1973. He established himself with his first film. It was a box office success, critical acclaim and several awards. After this, many of his other films were also very popular. These include 'Manthan', 'Bhoomika', 'Market Place', 'Junoon', 'Zubaida', 'The Making of Mahatma' and 'Sardar Begum'. All these stories raised complex social issues boldly. He is also the only director to have won 18 National Awards. In 1975, Benegal was honoured by the Government of India with the Padma Shri in 1976 and the Padma Bhushan in 1991.
Also Read: Shyam Benegal dies: National Film Awards to Padma Bhushan to Dadasaheb Phalke, full list of awards
