Growing up Mr. Benegal heard about Bose and his Indian National Army from his uncle Ramesh Benegal, who was recruited by Bose as a teenager and sent to Japan to train as a pilot. After independence, Ramesh Benegal joined the Indian Air Force from where he retired as Air Commodore. Mr. Benegal idolized his uncle as a child and was fascinated by the stores that he heard from him.
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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