Shyam Benegal receives Indira Gandhi Integration Award : Happenings News : ApunKaChoice.Com


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Shyam Benegal receives Indira Gandhi Integration Award
31st Oct 2004 21.07 IST
By ApunKaChoice Bureau

Noted filmmaker Shyam Benegal was presented with the prestigious Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at a function in New Delhi today.

Conferring the award on Benegal, Singh described him as “one of the most distinguished, innovative and socially conscious film makers”.

Though Sonia Gandhi, who is also the Chairperson of the Award Advisory Committee, was scheduled to give away the 19th annual award, she persuaded the Prime Minister, who was present in his capacity as a member of the panel, to bestow the award on the well-known director.

The award, conferred on Benegal for his “vision of the oneness of the Indian people, his deep humanism and his social concern”, carries Rs 1.51 lakh in cash and a citation.

Singh also paid rich tributes to late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, in whose memory the award has been instituted, saying she laid the foundation for the economic, social, cultural and emotional integration of the country.

Paying homage to the late Prime Minister, Sonia Gandhi said she left her imprint in every walk of life which has "immortalized" her in world history.

In his acceptance address, Benegal, who had made the "Making of the Mahatma," decried the "majoritarian impulses" in the society and asserted that the making of Indian nation began with the non-violent mass movement led by Mahatma Gandhi.

Benegal’s memorable films include 'Ankur', 'Manthan', 'Junoon', 'Mandi', 'Sardari Begum', ' Zubeida ' and to-be-released movie on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. He has also made several documentaries and television serials.