Filmmaker Shyam Benegal, a giant of Indian cinema and one of the guiding lights of the Parallel Cinema movement, passed away due to kidney-related ailments in Mumbai on December 23. He was 90.

Benegal passed away at Wockhardt Hospital at 6.38pm, said her daughter Pia.

"My father had been suffering from chronic kidney disease for several years but it worsened recently. That is the reason for his death," Pia said.

Benegal, celebrated for poignant and hard-hitting films like Ankur, Nishant, Mandi, Manthan and Zubeidaa, examined the main fault lines of Indian society, tackling issues of feudalism, caste, and women's emancipation, while ceaselessly experimenting with the cinematic form.

His vast filmography boasts several masterpieces that altered the course of Indian cinema.  Some other notable works of Benegal include Bhumika, Mammo, Sardari Begum, Junoon  Aarohan, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero and Well Done Abba.

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He also made a film on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, "Mujib: The Making of a Nation" which was released in 2023.

In recognition of his thought-provoking films addressing social issues, Benegal was honoured with the Indian government's prestigious award Padma Shri in 1976, two years after he made his directorial debut with Ankur, and the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award of the government, in 1991.

Benegal's third film Nishant (1975) earned a nomination for the Palme d'Or at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival.

During his illustrious career, Benegal earned numerous accolades, including the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest honour in the field of cinema, in 2005 and an impressive 18 national film awards.

His Mammo (1994), Sardari Begum (1996), and Zubeidaa (2001), which collectively form a trilogy on Muslim women, also won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.

Benegal has won the prestigious National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi a total of seven times.

Besides his daughter, the director is survived by his wife Nira.