Ankur

Shyam Benegal's debut, a masterly examination of feudal structures which continue to oppress and suppress, was the beginning of a short-lived but glorious stream of films that came to be defined as parallel cinema...

[Ankur] ntroduces a marvellous new actress, Shabana Azmi, as Lakshmi, and it is she who gives the central relationship its suppressed sensuality and force.

Benegal's first narrative feature mostly recalls the modest realism of Satyajit Ray.

An elegant and powerful treatise on rural feudalism that crossed over from the New Indian Cinema's government-sponsored purview into commercial success.

ANKUR is a powerful film that approaches the complexity of human behavior in a precise and profound way while tackling a wide variety of topics in a sensitive and moving manner.

A film that rightly deserves its spot in the top ten classic films of the Indian Art House canon.

Shyam Benega made his feature debut with this astute drama, a key work in the politically committed alternative to mainstream escapism known as Parallel Cinema.

There is a bewitching familiarity to the film that allows no rust to settle; more like a family album that you open once every few years, dust and admire. Smiles never fade. It is like yesterday never died.