Trigger Warning: This article includes mentions of death.
Shyam Benegal was an acclaimed Indian filmmaker who left for his heavenly abode on December 23, 2024. The celebrated director added to the rich history of Indian cinema. But did you know he was also envious of his cousin brother Guru Dutt? In an interview, he admitted the same adding that he used to envy Dutt because of his success.
A couple of months ago, Shyam Benegal was in an interview with Unfiltered by Samdish on YouTube. During the interaction, he touched upon feeling envious of others during his younger days. This is when the Ankur helmer stated that he used to envy Guru Dutt because of his success.
“I mean, I used to not admire, envy him. Not admire him so much, just envy him because of his success, as a filmmaker. I used to be very critical of his work. But the fact was that I used to envy him,” stated the veteran filmmaker adding that Dutt had a very restless mind and he used to try out different things. However, the filmmaker did admit that the person he used to admire greatly was Satyajit Ray.
When asked if he still feels such things at this age, the Manthan maker said, “No, not anymore. But the fact is that I don’t feel any kind of envy.” When asked if he used to feel it in his younger days, the filmmaker agreed with a strong “Of course”. On Monday, Benegal’s family confirmed the passing away of the legendary director who celebrated his 90th birthday on December 14.
Soon after the news of his demise made headlines, several B-town celebs took to social media to pay their last tribute to the Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner. Paying homage to the legend and his legacy, Akshay Kumar wrote, “Pained to know of Shyam Benegal ji’s demise. One of the finest filmmakers in our country, truly a legend. Om Shanti.”
Kajol also expressed, “Deeply saddened by the loss of the legendary Shyam Benegal. His contributions to Indian cinema are immeasurable and his legacy with live on through his incredible body of work.”
Celebs like Karan Johar, Vicky Kaushal’s father, Sham Kaushal, Manoj Bajpayee, Shekhar Kapur, Urmila Matondkar, and Anurag Kashyap also mourned the passing away of the director.
