Ankur (1974)

Surya, the educated son of a landlord, is sent to manage his family's land in a village in Telangana. Lonely and idle, he turns to Lakshmi, a lower-caste woman who works as his servant and whose husband Kishtayya is a deaf-mute potter with a drinking problem. Their relationship crosses lines of caste and class, and when Lakshmi becomes pregnant, Surya's cowardice is laid bare. The first feature of Shyam Benegal, Ankur ("the seedling") is one of the founding films of India's parallel cinema movement. It marked the screen debut of Shabana Azmi, who won the National Award for Best Actress, and was shot by Govind Nihalani in real village locations.