The 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival will mark a significant achievement for Indian cinema as Shyam Benegal’s classic ‘Manthan’ is set to be screened during a prestigious gala on Friday at Salle Bunuel.
‘Manthan,’ starring the late Smita Patil, is the sole Indian film selected for the Cannes Classic section this year. The film, centered on Dr. Verghese Kurien’s pioneering milk cooperative movement—dubbed the White Revolution in India—was produced by 500,000 dairy farmers of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which markets its products under the Amul brand.
As the first crowdfunded Indian film, ‘Manthan’ was financed entirely by these farmers, who each contributed Rs 2. The script was co-written by Kurien and Vijay Tendulkar. The film features notable actors such as Naseeruddin Shah, Girish Karnad, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Mohan Agashe, Anant Nag, and Amrish Puri.
‘Manthan’ earned two National Film Awards in 1977: Best Feature Film in Hindi and Best Screenplay for Tendulkar. It was also India’s official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 1976 Academy Awards.
The restored version of the film will premiere at Cannes, with attendees including Naseeruddin Shah, the family of the late Smita Patil, the film’s producers, and Film Heritage Foundation’s Shivendra Singh Dungarpur.
Regarding the Cannes screening, Shyam Benegal said, “I was absolutely delighted when Shivendra told me that Film Heritage Foundation was going to restore ‘Manthan’ in collaboration with the Gujarat Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. ‘Manthan’ is a film that is very close to my heart as it was funded by 500,000 farmers and was instrumental in the growth of an extraordinary cooperative movement that was aimed at breaking the shackles of economic inequality and caste discrimination whilst empowering the farmers.”
He further added, “It will remind the world of the power of cinema as a vehicle of change and also the legacy of the great Verghese Kurien, the Father of the White Revolution. Govind Nihalani and I have been following the progress of the restoration closely and I am amazed by the meticulous approach to the restoration. It is wonderful to see the film come back to life almost like we made it yesterday. Film Heritage Foundation has been doing remarkable work in film restoration. Not only are they beautifully restoring films from every region of India, but bringing them back to the public at festivals and screenings around the world in a way that showcases our unique film heritage to contemporary global audiences.”
The Cannes Film Festival 2024 commenced on May 14 and will run until May 25.
