Shyam Benegal- a pioneer to Indian cinemas

Shyam Benegal is a legendary figure in the Indian cinemas. Born on 14 December 1934, Benegal became one of the pioneers of the new cinema in India. Almost all of his cinemas have bagged national awards and some have been awarded internationally. His outstanding contribution to Indian cinema has awarded him with numerous prestigious awards. To name them, he got Padma Shri, Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Padma Bhushan , ANR National Award and many more. The current president of Federation of Film Societies of India, was also a member of the jury at the 14th and 31st Moscow International Film Festival in 1985 and 2009 respectively. His first film Ankur was made up in 1973 and was based on economic and sexual exploitation of his home state in Telangana. In 1975 this film won National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film. His other successful films are Nishant, Manthan, Bhumika all were based on stories that attracted large number of audience. He even directed tv soap like Yatra, for the Indian railways. He has made 26 fiction features for cinema, several documentaries and a 53-hour tv series on History of India. The veteran film maker yearns to make another film. He had been associated with Mumbai Academy of Moving Image(MAMI), a Non-profit Organisation founded in 1997.