Shyam Benegal & Ravi Jhankal Movies Together List — 3 Films

The shape of the work

The 1990s belonged to Samar; the 2000s to Zubeidaa. Shyam Benegal directed every film; Ravi Jhankal acted in all of them. Strictly Hindi cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• Benegal cast Jhankal in 'Samar' (1999) after seeing him in a theatre production. Jhankal had to unlearn his stage training for the camera — Benegal made him rehearse the same scene 12 times before the first take.
• On 'Zubeidaa' (2001), Benegal let Jhankal improvise his lines as the servant. Jhankal added a stammer to the character on the spot. Benegal kept it in the final cut — it became the most quoted bit of dialogue from the film.
• Jhankal once said Benegal would call him at 2 AM to discuss a single line reading. They never became close friends off set — it was strictly work. But Jhankal admitted Benegal was the only director who made him feel like a co-creator, not just an actor.
• Their third film together, 'Welcome to Sajjanpur' (2008), was Benegal's first outright comedy. Jhankal's deadpan timing in that film directly influenced how later Benegal regulars like Pankaj Kapur approached comic roles in the director's subsequent projects.
• Jhankal on Benegal: 'He never told me what to feel. He just said, "Read the line again, but this time, think of your father." That was his entire direction. And it worked every time.'