Atul Tiwari on his mentor Shyam Benegal: He was the last gentleman in the film industry
Actor-writer Atul Tiwari, author of Maestro - A Tribute to Shyam Benegal at 90, is deeply saddened with the demise of his mentor filmmaker Shyam Benegal.
Actor-writer Atul Tiwari is deeply saddened with the demise of his guiding force filmmaker Shyam Benegal. He, however, feels content that he was able to gift the legend his book Maestro - A Tribute to Shyam Benegal at 90 on his last birthday, December 14.
“He was the last gentleman in the film industry. Gentleman in all the dimensions one can think of — artistically, intellectually, socially, politically, in the way one dresses, eats, talks and replies to every letter. Gentleman is one word that describes him all,” says the writer who has been associated with him for the last 37 years.
“My working journey with him began in 1988 with TV serial Discovery of India where he invited me to write screenplay for a particular episode on something to do with 1942 agitation. Since then, I have done many projects in different capacities including acting till his last film Mujib: The Making of a Nation (2023) where I wrote the screenplay,” he shares.
He recalls his first meeting with the legend. “It was in 1985, my second visit to Mumbai, when my theatre ustad (the late) Prof Raj Bisaria saheb asked me to take a single malt (whiskey) for him with a letter. I went to meet him and prepared a mental conversation with him. On reaching, I gave him the bottle as well as the letter. He sweetly accepted it and asked me to convey his regards and wished me goodbye. My dreams went down the drain. But, later in life, I got full access to be with him and work with him. We celebrated his 80th birthday in Lucknow during the Metaphor Lucknow LitFest and on 90th I gifted him the book,” he adds.
Giving an insight into his book, he informs, “In the opening chapter of the book, I wrote a poem on him. The second chapter A Story Well Told is my analysis on life and his work. The third chapter is my archival interview with him followed by personal remanences and reflections. And the final chapter is Book Within a Book. My childhood friend late Vivek Chatterjee had written since our young days he was writing long reviews on his films. In 2017 he developed cancer and asked me to get his manuscript published. He passed away and since then I have been trying to get them published. This book became a perfect platform. Plus, I have used big pictures which have been composed by Shyam sir, composed by Govind Nehalani.”
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