Women are kept in a dependent situation and "You cannot define a woman independent of a man, and this is a problem." Women do not have an independent existence and have to learn to be great survivors and be resilient he points out. It is this imbalance and the exploitation of women that has been a part of many of his film narratives. He adds that social attitudes do not change even when economic changes take place.
Mr. Benegal also discusses the influence of some of the egalitarian movements like the Telangana movement and its impact on him. Some of his classmates were part of the Telanga movement.
Growing up in the old feudal state of Hyderabad, Mr. Bengal early on in his life recognized that he was part of a micro minority community. In fact his family was the only Konkani speaking one in the whole state of Hyderabad for quite some time. And that experience has lent him an interesting way of looking at the world.
Mr. Benegal made his first feature film Ankur in 1973. Everybody in the film was a newcomer, except for the camera person Govind Nihalani.
After the success of Ankur, Mr. Benegal went on to make films like Mandi, Nishant, Bhumika , Junoon, Manthan, Kalyug, Zubeida and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero .
Mr. Benegal introduced many talented actors like Shabana Azmi, Anant Nag, Smita Patil, and Naseerudin Shah among others to the Indian film industry.
Besides feature films, Mr. Benegal has made TV documentaries and one of his best-known series is Bharat:Ek Khoj, based on Jawaharlal Nehru's Discovery of India.
A prolific film-maker, Mr. Benegal has no plans to retire and is busy with his next project called Chamki.
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