An eminent and respected name in the world of filmmaking, Benegal brought in the ‘new cinema’ with his first film Ankur (1973) and gave the film industry one of its most powerful actresses in the form of Shabana Azmi.
His films like Nishant (1975), Manthan (1976), Bhumika (1976), Sardari Begum (1996) may not have been box office successes but they undoubtedly gave Benegal a cult status.
So much so that a glamourous and hardcore commercial actress like Karisma Kapoor, lowered her price and did his Zubeidaa (2001), which upped her ranking as an actress.