Shyam Benegal was truly a trendsetter for the parallel cinema movement in the country. He gave breaks to many new actors, who went on to become towering figures in the industry, such as Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi. He was always at ease on set and cared well for his cast and crew. He had a soft-spoken demeanour and never showed any tantrums while working. This is a difficult time for everyone who has collaborated with him in the past.

It was a fulfilling experience for me to work with him in Nishant, Manthan and Bhumika. He gave actors a lot of freedom to explore and improvise their performances based on their understanding of the story. His filmmaking style was very different as he had been making good documentaries for a long time. He was also an informed man which brought a certain uniqueness to his style. It must’ve been difficult even for a man of his stature to find producers to tell the stories he wanted to. So, he did a lot of films for the government in the form of many documentaries. He was one of the favourites of the central government for commissioned work. Apart from that, his biopics, The Making of The Mahatma and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero, are made with historical accuracy.

Even with the advent of television in the late 1980s, Shyam babu reinvented himself by making ground-breaking shows like Bharat Ek Khoj, based on the book by Nehru. He always made socially relevant and meaningful films. He believed in art for life an not art for art's sake.

There is a great difference between thinking of cinema as art and cinema as industry. The approach becomes different in both cases. Shyam babu wanted to think of it as an art. He has always been an inspiration for a new generation of filmmakers and will continue to influence many young directors in the years to come.

(As told to Shreyas Pande)