The V Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award of the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) for Documentary, Shorts and Animation Films-MIFF 2018 will be conferred on veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal on Saturday.
The award carries a Trophy, a shawl, citation and cash prize of Rs 10 lakh and will be presented by the Governor of Maharashtra, C Vidyasagar Rao, at the MIFF 2018 valedictory function at NCPA.
An independent committee comprising Rahul Rawail, Kiran Shantaram, Prasoon Joshi, Bharathi Pradhan and Vinod Anupam unanimously recommended the name of Shyam Benegal, taking note of his significant contribution to the growth and sustenance of the documentary movement in India.
While Benegal has made 28 feature films, including landmark films like Ankur, Nishant, Mandi and Junoon, his filmography also includes 41 documentaries covering a wide variety of subjects including cultural anthropology, sustainable growth, biopic, art and culture. His 1982 documentary ‘Satyajit Ray’ won the National Award for Best Biographical Film, while his 1985 film ‘Nehru’ won the award for Best Historical Reconstruction.
His work on television consists of several popular series including the 53 part series Bharat Ek Khoj, first broadcast on Doordarshan in 1988. He also made the much acclaimed “Samvidhaan – The Making of the Constitution of India.”
Benegal, 84, born in Hyderabad, completed his M.A. in Economics from Osmania University and began working in an advertising agency, before venturing into film making. He made his first documentary film Gher Behti Ganga in Gujarati in 1963.
Recipient of many awards including nine National Awards for his feature films, Benegal has been honoured by the government with Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan as well as the coveted Dadasaheb Phalke Award.