Shyam Benegal (World Directors) - Hardcover

Sangeeta Datta

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0851709079 ISBN 13: 9780851709079

Publisher: British Film Institute, 2002

Synopsis

Shyam Benegal is the best known and most prolific contemporary film-maker from India's arthouse or 'New Cinema' tradition. This work traces a career with its beginnings in political cinema and a realist aesthetic. It also provides an overview of the director's work.

About this title

Synopsis:

Shyam Benegal is the best-known and most prolific contemporary filmmaker from India's arthouse or 'New Cinema' tradition. From Benegal's first film "Ankur" (1974) through to the recent hit "Zubeidaa" (2000), his films have explored the contradictions and tensions of a society in rapid transition with a uniquely powerful focus on female protagonists. Sangeeta Datta traces Benegal's career with its beginnings in political cinema and its realist aesthetic.She demonstrates how the struggles of women and the marginalized in Indian society have found an eloquent expression in films. The book also traces Benegal's work with collaborators including many of the biggest names in commercial cinema - Om Puri, Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, and more recently Karishma Kapoor, Govind Nihalini, and A. R. Rahman - developing a style and ethos uniquely his own. In this first major overview of the director's work, Datta explains how Benegal presents both a stark contrast to Bollywood and yet also maintains many creative continuities both with commercial cinema and his distinguished predecessor Satyajit Ray.

She shows how no other director has come close to painting such a compelling and vivid portrait of modern India.

From the Back Cover:

Shyam Benegal is the best known and most prolific contemporary film-maker from India's arthouse or "New Cinema" tradition. This work traces a career with its beginnings in political cinema and a realist aesthetic. It shows how the struggles of women and the dispossessed and marginalized in Indian society have found an eloquent expression in films as diverse as "Nishant", "Bhumika", "Mandi", "Suraj ka Satwa Ghoda" and "Kalyug". It also traces Benegal's work with collaborators including many of the biggest names in commercial cinema - Om Puri, Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, and more recently Karishma Kapoor, Govind Nihalini, and A.R. Rahman - developing a style and ethos uniquely his. It also provides an overview of the director's work, explaining how it presents both a stark contrast to Bollywood and yet also contains many creative continuities both with commercial cinema and with his distinguished predecessor Satyajit Ray.

About this edition

• Publisher: British Film Institute
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0851709079
• ISBN 13: 9780851709079
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256