Shyam Benegal recalls unexpected meeting with Jawaharlal Nehru; calls Emergency a ‘terrible time’: ‘Indira Gandhi was a lonely child’

Shyam Benegal recalled Jawaharlal Nehru’s magnetic presence and discussed the tense period during the Emergency imposed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and the oppressive police brutality that marked that time.

Shyam Benegal spoke on meeting Jawaharlal Nehru for the first time and his show Bharat Ek Ghoj. (Pic: Unfiltered by Samdish/YT)

Shyam Benegal, a pioneer of parallel cinema in India, shared memories of his unexpected encounter with the late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru at a youth festival, recalling Nehru’s magnetic presence and his popularity among the youth. Benegal also discussed the tense period during the Emergency imposed by Nehru’s daughter, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and the oppressive police brutality that marked that time. He further revealed that Indira, whom he described as a ‘lonely child’ during her youth, once introduced his film on Nehru.

In conversation on Unfiltered by Samdish, Shyam Benegal recounted his first meeting with Nehru. “Sometime in the mid 1950s, he came to a youth festival unannounced and I met him there. He was the Prime Minister at that time. He used to love young people. We were sitting at the youth festival at a long lunch table and he asked if he could join us and he joined us. His attractiveness was very much, and that was one of the reason one fell in love with him because of this ability.” When asked if he loved Nehru, he responded, “Oh certainly, otherwise why why would I make Bharat Ek Ghoj?” Bharat Ek Khoj was an Indian historical drama based on the book The Discovery of India (1946) by Jawaharlal Nehru.

Reflecting on the Emergency years, Benegal described the atmosphere as “a terrible time for us.” He elaborated on the authoritarian behaviour displayed by the police, saying, “Some of the things that happened then were unpleasant. The police used to behave ridiculously. If somebody would speak loudly something critically, the police would say, ‘Come with us.'” He agreed that, for a time, the nation had taken on the semblance of a police state.

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When asked about how he viewed Indira Gandhi’s actions during the Emergency in contrast to the respect he held for Nehru, he responded, “The funny part is that I made a film on Nehru and it was introduced by Indira Gandhi. When we were making the film, we had asked her if she would introduce the film and she agreed. What I think she found most attractive about her father was that he was never there for her in that sense at home. He used to be in jail or would be travelling and he would write letters to her. And she used to miss him a lot and she was very lonely as a child. She did mention that to me but she didn’t want me to film it.”

Sharing his perspective on Indira Gandhi, Benegal reflected on her public image, especially during her early political career, “One expression that became very popular was ‘Goongi Guddiya’… nonsense, you know. She was a bit shy actually…”

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