Shyam Benegal was not only my mentor, he was my foster father: Naseeruddin Shah

Shyam Benegal, a pioneer of the parallel movement in Hindi cinema in the 1970s and 1980s, gave us classics like Ankur, Mandi, Manthan and more. He passed away on Monday, December 23, after battling chronic kidney disease. He was 90.
Naseeruddin Shah who worked with Benegal in several films bid an emotional farewell to the master storyteller at the latter's funeral on Tuesday.
Remembering Benegal, Naseer told Bombay Times, “Everything I am and everything I have I owe to Shyam. He was not only my mentor he was my foster father. It is impossible to describe in a few words what Shyam meant to me, I wonder what I would have become if he hadn't had faith in me when no one else did. He and Nira were a huge support in my difficult days. He did whatever he could with his life-right to the end. Not many people can claim to have done that."