Shyam Benegal

Shyam Benegal is one of the most prolific contemporary film-makers from India's 'New Cinema'. From his first film Ankur (1947) through to Zubeida (2000), he has explored the contradictions and tensions of a society in rapid transition, with a unique focus on the female protagonists. This book traces a career with its beginnings in political cinema and a realist aesthetic. It shows how the struggles of women, the dispossessed and marginalized in Indian society find expression in films as diverse as Nishant, Bhumika, Mandi, Suraj Ka Satwan  Ghoda and Kalyug. It traces Benegal's work with some of the biggest names in Indian cinema - Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Govind Nihalani and more recently Karishma Kapoor and A. R. Rahman - developing a style and ethos uniquely his. It also explains how  the director's work presents both a stark contrast to Bollywood and yet contains creative continuities both with commercial cinema and his  distinguished predecessor Satyajit Ray. Perhaps no other  director has come close to  painting such a compelling and vivid portrait of modern India.