Pioneering Indian filmmaker Shyam Benegal died Monday in Mumbai following a chronic kidney disease. He was 90. His daughter Pia Benegal confirmed the news to India Today. He had recently celebrated his 90th birthday with friends, family and the likes of Shashi Kapoor’s son Kunal Kapoor, according to the local outlet.

He won acclaim from critics and audiences even as the gritty stories he put on the big screen grappled with some of India’s thorniest problems.

Shyam Benegal, a renowned Indian filmmaker known for pioneering a cinema movement that tackled social issues in the 1970s, has died after chronic kidney disease

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For those born in the late 70s and 80s, and who grew into adulthood in the 90s, the evolution of Indian television and parallel cinema is a living memory. Shyam Benegal, a visionary filmmaker whose contributions to both industries are unparalleled,