Shyam Benegal's daughter Pia addresses rumours about his ill health

Shyam Benegal's daughter Pia recently dismissed media reports claiming that the veteran filmmaker was suffering from ill health. Pia is a costume designer and said that all the information circulating about her father's ill health via media reports is "incorrect".

Pia added that her father is "as fine as he can be." The Ankur director has been on a break, she said, adding that he will be returning to work in some time. Pia also commented on the director reaching his "retirement age". 

 “There’s nothing that I can tell you now. He shall be back in the office in some time... Yeah (he is fine), as fine as he can be. He just needs a break. At the age of 88, it is time to retire, don’t you think?”

Shyam Benegal receiving dialysis at home

Several media reports recently claimed that the Manthan director was not keeping well. Pia confirmed that her father Shyam Benegal has been receiving dialysis at home. "Doctors are coming to the house, he is getting dialysis at home, that he is so ill that he cannot go to the hospital, all are incorrect information,” Pia said.

Shyam Benegal's prolific career

Shyam Benegal is one of the most popular directors in India and the face of parallel cinema. Born in Hyderabad, the director made his debut in the Gujarati film industry with Gher Betha Ganga in 1962. His first Hindi films were Ankur (1973), Nishant (1975), Manthan (1976) and Bhumika (1977).

Along with his many accolades, Benegal has won National Film Awards for Best Feature Film in Hindi for Mammo (1994), Sardari Begum (1996) and Zubeidaa (2001). He was honoured with the Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.