Benegal’s ‘Manthan’ to be screened at Cannes
THE FILM DRAWS INSPIRATION FROM THE PIONEERING MILK COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT
AHMEDABAD: The Cannes Film Festival is set to feature the restored version of veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal’s 1976 film Manthan.
Starring Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah, Girish Karnad and Amrish Puri, the film draws inspiration from the pioneering milk cooperative movement led by Verghese Kurien, who is renowned for “Operation Flood” that transformed India into the world’s largest milk producer and gave rise to the billion-dollar brand Amul.
According to Cannes Film Festival website, Manthan will be screened under Cannes Classics, a section created 20 years ago which features celebrations, restored prints and documentaries.
Made at a budget of ₹10 lakh, Manthan was the first crowdfunded Indian film, with 500,000 dairy farmers of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) contributing ₹2 each to fund its production cost.
“The film has had a huge impact on the dairy cooperative movement. It inspired millions of farmers across the nation to come together to form local dairy cooperatives and has contributed immensely towards India’s journey to self-sufficiency in milk production...,” GCMM managing director Jayen Mehta said.
The film won the 1977 National Film Award for Best
Feature Film in Hindi and National Film Award for Best Screenplay for Vijay Tendulkar. It was also India’s submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1976.
The film has been restored by the Film Heritage Foundation, which earlier carried out restoration work of G Aravindan’s
Malayalam movie “Thampu” (1978) to Cannes Classics in 2022, followed by the restored “Ishanou” — directed by Manipuri auteur Aribam Syam Sharma — under the same segment last year.
Sharing the news on X, FHF founder Shivendra Singh Dungarpur said: “Unbelievable Third year in a row at Cannes Film Festival …Film Heritage Foundation is proud to bring the Restoration of Shyam Benegal’s milestone film ‘Manthan’ produced by 500,000 farmers who gave rupees 2 to produce this film…I wish Smita Patil was here to see this… (sic).”
FHF is a Mumbai-based notfor-profit organisation dedicated to supporting the conservation, preservation and restoration of Indian cinema.
The 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival will open on May 14 and come to a close on May 25.