New Delhi: Noted filmmaker Shyam Benegal has been nominated to Rajya Sabha for a six-year term.
Seventy two-year-old Benegal who was credited with introducing what is called the "middle cinema," shot to fame with his film Ankur in 1973. Benegal was awarded Padma Shri in 1976 and Padma Bhushan in 1981.
Benegal says the announcement came as a pleasant surprise to him and added that he would need to do his homework before donning this new role.
"I am delighted. But it also means that one should be able to make use of it as well. Here is an opportunity to put forward one's ideas in a forum that sets policies for the future as far as India is concerned," Benegal said.
The other nominees to Rajya Sabha include, media magnate Shobhana Bhartia and eminent art historian Kapila Vatsayan.
Bhartia, Vice Chairperson and Editorial Director of Hindustan Times, is Chairperson of PTI Board of Directors. She was conferred with Padma Shri in 2005 for her contribution to journalism.
Vatsayan, 78, is one of the foremost Indian scholars of Indian dance and performing arts. An associate of late Indira Gandhi, she was recently appointed Chairperson of the prestigious Indira Gandhi National Centre of Arts.
(with inputs from PTI)
Comments
0 comment