Different from the rest: Farida Jalal remembers Shyam Benegal

Veteran actor Farida Jalal recalls her memorable experience working with filmmaker Shyam Benegal, who died on Monday at the age of 90.

In Short

• Farida Jalal mourns Shyam Benegal's death
• She praises his mentorship and soft-spoken nature
• Farida recalls her role in Benegal's film Mammo

Veteran actor Farida Jalal, 75, spoke fondly of the late filmmaker Shyam Benegal, who died on Monday at the age of 90. She described him as a mentor who allowed actors to express themselves freely and was always soft-spoken. Farida worked with him in the 1994 film Mammo.

“If he understood your capacity to put 100 per cent into the character he had given you, he would just let you play,” Jalal told PTI. “There were no instructions as such. That little smile on his face would tell you that he was happy with what you were doing... That smile was something. It was a reassurance that ‘You’re right, you can go on, and I’m loving it.’ That was just there, and he would never hide that,” she recalled.

In Mammo, Farida Jalal played the titular role of a woman uprooted by the Partition, navigating the complexities of identity and belonging while seeking solace in her familial ties.

Jalal expressed deep gratitude for her experiences working with Benegal, saying, “I was so privileged and happy when I met him at his office and he said, ‘This is the story of Mammo and you’re Mammo.’ I can’t tell you what I felt in that moment when he put the script in my lap.”

“He was one of a kind,” she continued. “God bless him wherever he is. He is in a better place.” Farida also shared that the late filmmaker was addressed as Shyam Babu by his friends and colleagues.

Farida, last seen in Heeramandi, described working with Benegal as every actor’s dream. “Only an actor can tell what they felt on his sets. He was so disciplined, different from the rest. He was so soft-spoken, kind. His work speaks for his talent and art. He gave rise to some of the best movies and brought to the forefront some of the finest talents, like Shabana Azmi,” she said.

Shyam Benegal, who ushered in the 'parallel cinema' movement in the 1970s and '80s, died due to chronic kidney disease. He has left behind a legacy of cinematic brilliance in films like Mandi, Nishant, Junoon, Zubeidaa, and Welcome to Sajjanpur. He also delivered shows such as Bharat Ek Khoj, Yatra, and Samvidhaan.