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This Shyam Benegal film was shot in 28 days, did silver jubilee in a theatre; starred Shabana Azmi
Veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal died on December 23 at the age of 90. He was suffering from a chronic kidney disease.
Shyam Benegal was considered one of the finest filmmakers in India. The veteran filmmaker left a lasting legacy of work, and died at the age of 90 on December. From Manthan to Nishant, Ankur to Bhumika, Shyam Benegal's films fetched him numerous National awards.
But if there's one film that the director remembers having the most fun to shoot, it was the 1983 release Mandi. Starring Shabana Azmi, Ratna Pathak Shah and Smita Patil, the film was a success at the box office too. (Also read: Shyam Benegal, director of award-winning films like Nishant and Manthan, dies at 90)
What Shyam Benegal said
In an interview on Unfiltered with Samdish in November 2024, Shyam Benegal had opened up about the story of shooting Mandi. “I made films which I wanted to make. I never thought of doing something that I wanted to see in theatre going on for 100 weeks or whatever. There was one time when… this film that I made Mandi, many years ago, ran for a silver jubilee. Next door, there used to be a cinema there. They all enjoyed themselves making the film. All my favourite actors were there in that film. Amrish [Puri], Om [Puri], Naseeruddin [Shah], Shabana [Azmi], Smita [Patil] was there. I shot that in Hyderabad.”
On making Mandi
He went on to add, “It is funny because we were shooting without thinking. It went on in its own. Once you started it, it went on because these were just wonderful actors. The improvisational capability was just wonderful. I had planned the schedule for like 45 days because I normally shoot continuously without breaks… and we finished the film in 28 days! I said… when the last shot was done, ‘No more? Finished? How terrible!’”
Mandi was based on a Urdu short story Aanandi by writer Ghulam Abbas. It told the story of a brothel which was run by Rukmini Bai (Shabana Azmi). Because it was situated in the heart of a city, some politicians start to vouch for its prime locality. It won the National Award for Best Art Direction.
