# Ankur (अंकुर)
**Ankur** (अंकुर; also known as *Ankur: The Seedling*) is a 1974 Indian Hindi-language drama directed by [Shyam Benegal](https://www.edgepedia.org/shyam-benegal), his first narrative feature, about the affair between the son of an absentee landlord and a lower-caste housekeeper in a feudal [Andhra Pradesh](https://www.edgepedia.org/andhra-pradesh) village[1](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/fd4b98da-eab3-5fdb-b565-f3d73b946545/ankur) • [2](https://mubi.com/en/us/films/the-seedling). It marked the debut of [Shabana Azmi](https://www.edgepedia.org/shabana-azmi) as a lead actress and is regarded as a key early work of Indian Parallel Cinema[3](https://www.filmfare.com/features/100-filmfare-days-41-ankur-6293.html) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ankur).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / debut | Shyam Benegal's first narrative feature, after years of documentaries and advertising films[1](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/fd4b98da-eab3-5fdb-b565-f3d73b946545/ankur) • [3](https://www.filmfare.com/features/100-filmfare-days-41-ankur-6293.html) |
| Year / language | 1974, India; Hindi, with dialogue in the Dakhni dialect of Hindi-Urdu[1](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/fd4b98da-eab3-5fdb-b565-f3d73b946545/ankur) • [3](https://www.filmfare.com/features/100-filmfare-days-41-ankur-6293.html) |
| Principal cast | Shabana Azmi (Laxmi), Anant Nag (Surya), Sadhu Meher (Kishtayya), Priya Tendulkar (Saru)[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071145) |
| National Film Awards (1975) | Best Actor (Sadhu Meher), Best Actress (Shabana Azmi), and 2nd Best Feature Film[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071145/awards/) |
| International recognition | Nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear at the 24th Berlin International Film Festival[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071145/awards/) |
| Budget and earnings | Made for five lakh rupees; Filmfare reports a crore in ticket sales, while a University of California dissertation reports earnings of 100 million (10 crore) on an initial investment of 1 million (10 lakh)[3](https://www.filmfare.com/features/100-filmfare-days-41-ankur-6293.html) • [7](https://escholarship.org/content/qt1vn119k0/qt1vn119k0_noSplash_307fd3a7cb1237874938d44b29c19876.pdf?t=r6f0zv) |
| Key crew | Cinematography Govind Nihalani; music Vanraj Bhatia; dialogue Satyadev Dubey[8](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/ankur/cast/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and setting
The story is set around 1945 in Yellareddiguda, a village about 25 km from [Hyderabad](https://www.edgepedia.org/hyderabad) in rural Andhra Pradesh[9](https://fipresci-india.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/6.-Pradip-Biswas-Ankur.pdf). Surya ([Anant Nag](https://www.edgepedia.org/anant-nag)), the ne'er-do-well son of an absentee landlord, is sent to oversee his father's land, where he employs Lakshmi (Shabana Azmi), a poor Dalit (member of India's lowest, formerly 'untouchable' castes) potter woman, and her husband Kishtayya (Sadhu Meher), who is deaf and speech-impaired[2](https://mubi.com/en/us/films/the-seedling) • [10](https://m.thewire.in/article/culture/remembering-shyam-benegals-ankur-a-film-of-timeless-relevance/amp). Surya lives alone because his bride Saroj ([Priya Tendulkar](https://www.edgepedia.org/priya-tendulkar)) is still a child, and while waiting for her he becomes attracted to Lakshmi and takes her as his mistress[10](https://m.thewire.in/article/culture/remembering-shyam-benegals-ankur-a-film-of-timeless-relevance/amp).
When Surya's wife comes to stay with him and learns of the affair, Lakshmi, now carrying Surya's child, is abandoned by him in the name of feudal honor and prestige[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071145) • [10](https://m.thewire.in/article/culture/remembering-shyam-benegals-ankur-a-film-of-timeless-relevance/amp). The film closes with a small boy throwing a stone at the landlord's window, an act of defiance that ends on a blood-red screen, suggesting the anger of peasants toward their feudal masters[10](https://m.thewire.in/article/culture/remembering-shyam-benegals-ankur-a-film-of-timeless-relevance/amp).
## Themes
The film examines the caste system, class hierarchy, and gender oppression in a feudal rural society[2](https://mubi.com/en/us/films/the-seedling) • [10](https://m.thewire.in/article/culture/remembering-shyam-benegals-ankur-a-film-of-timeless-relevance/amp). Surya initially appears to challenge caste rigidities by having food cooked by Lakshmi, a Dalit, against the dismay of the village priest, but the entrenched caste order remains pervasive[10](https://m.thewire.in/article/culture/remembering-shyam-benegals-ankur-a-film-of-timeless-relevance/amp). Economic change also appears: Kishtayya loses his pottery work because villagers now buy aluminum vessels instead of ones made of clay[10](https://m.thewire.in/article/culture/remembering-shyam-benegals-ankur-a-film-of-timeless-relevance/amp).
The title, which means a seedling, works as a motif on two levels: in the opening scene a village woman offers a fruit seedling to the goddess while Lakshmi prays for a child, and on a larger level it stands for change in the oppressive feudal rural milieu[10](https://m.thewire.in/article/culture/remembering-shyam-benegals-ankur-a-film-of-timeless-relevance/amp). The film also contains an explicit reference to the peasants' movement initially led by the CPI(M), and its 1970s context of the Naxalbari movement gave its 1945 setting a contemporary edge[10](https://m.thewire.in/article/culture/remembering-shyam-benegals-ankur-a-film-of-timeless-relevance/amp).
## Production
Benegal had made dozens of documentaries and advertising films before *Ankur*, which was made for five lakh rupees[3](https://www.filmfare.com/features/100-filmfare-days-41-ankur-6293.html). Azmi was not his first choice; [Waheeda Rehman](https://www.edgepedia.org/waheeda-rehman) had turned down the film, and Benegal reportedly considered Azmi too pretty for the role of a gullible village girl[3](https://www.filmfare.com/features/100-filmfare-days-41-ankur-6293.html). The actors wore no makeup and dressed in realistic costumes, and the dialogue is in Dakhni, a variant of standard Hindi-Urdu spoken mostly in southern India[3](https://www.filmfare.com/features/100-filmfare-days-41-ankur-6293.html) • [10](https://m.thewire.in/article/culture/remembering-shyam-benegals-ankur-a-film-of-timeless-relevance/amp).
The producers, Mohan J. Bijlani and Freni Variava of Blaze Film Enterprises, removed themselves entirely from the film's development, refusing to watch the dailies or give feedback during editing[7](https://escholarship.org/content/qt1vn119k0/qt1vn119k0_noSplash_307fd3a7cb1237874938d44b29c19876.pdf?t=r6f0zv).
## Reception and legacy
*Ankur* was a commercial success despite its subject matter, and its earnings were read as proof that parallel cinema could find an audience[3](https://www.filmfare.com/features/100-filmfare-days-41-ankur-6293.html) • [7](https://escholarship.org/content/qt1vn119k0/qt1vn119k0_noSplash_307fd3a7cb1237874938d44b29c19876.pdf?t=r6f0zv). Critics compared its modest realism to [Satyajit Ray](https://www.edgepedia.org/satyajit-ray)'s work, and some have regarded its impact on Indian film as comparable to Ray's *Pather Panchali* (1955) in advancing the Parallel Cinema alternative[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ankur) • [11](https://eternalitytan.com/2020/04/30/ankur-1974/). On Rotten Tomatoes it holds a 100% Tomatometer from 8 reviews and a 92% Popcornmeter[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ankur).
The film won three [National Film Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-film-awards) at the 1975 ceremony: Best Actor for Sadhu Meher, Best Actress for Shabana Azmi, and 2nd Best Feature Film, and it was nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear at the 24th [Berlin International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/berlin-international-film-festival)[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071145/awards/). It also received Filmfare nominations for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actress[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071145/awards/).
Reported running times differ across databases: the BFI lists 131 minutes, MUBI 125, [JustWatch](https://www.edgepedia.org/justwatch) 122, and IMDb 2 hours 11 minutes[1](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/fd4b98da-eab3-5fdb-b565-f3d73b946545/ankur) • [2](https://mubi.com/en/us/films/the-seedling) • [12](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/ankur) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071145).
## References
1. [ANKUR (1974), British Film Institute](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/fd4b98da-eab3-5fdb-b565-f3d73b946545/ankur)
2. [Ankur (The Seedling), MUBI](https://mubi.com/en/us/films/the-seedling)
3. [100 Filmfare Days: 41 – Ankur, Filmfare](https://www.filmfare.com/features/100-filmfare-days-41-ankur-6293.html)
4. [Ankur, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ankur)
5. [Ankur (1974), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071145)
6. [Ankur (1974) – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071145/awards/)
7. [University of California dissertation on Shyam Benegal, eScholarship](https://escholarship.org/content/qt1vn119k0/qt1vn119k0_noSplash_307fd3a7cb1237874938d44b29c19876.pdf?t=r6f0zv)
8. [Ankur Cast List, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/ankur/cast/)
9. [Shyam Benegal's Ankur: 50-Year-Live, Pradip Biswas, E-CineIndia (FIPRESCI India)](https://fipresci-india.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/6.-Pradip-Biswas-Ankur.pdf)
10. [Remembering Shyam Benegal's 'Ankur': A Film of Timeless Relevance, The Wire](https://m.thewire.in/article/culture/remembering-shyam-benegals-ankur-a-film-of-timeless-relevance/amp)
11. [Ankur (1974) review, Eternality Tan](https://eternalitytan.com/2020/04/30/ankur-1974/)
12. [Ankur streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/ankur)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Hindi films of the 1970s › Released 1970 to 1975*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license