Featuring Smita Patil’s moving portrayal of an unconventional and fascinating actor, Bhumika is masterful work by Shyam Benegal. Based on the life of 40s Marathi stage actor Hansa Wadkar, this film is a fine study of feminism, male gaze and the price one has to pay for personal freedom.
Based on Urdu short story Anandi by Ghulam Abbas, Mandi is a sharp satire on the hypocrisy of society. Questioning the self-appointed guardians of morality and culture, director Shyam Benegal explores the world of sex workers a gaze full of empathy, kindness, and respect.
Based on a play by the noted playwright Vijay Tendulkar, Nishant is a compelling comment on tyrannical social hierarchies which unapologetically enable the oppressor. This visceral Shyam Benegal film is a haunting recreation of rural India’s feudal way of life.
