Prateik Babbar On Watching Mom Smita Patil's Film 'Manthan' At Cannes 2024: I Was Overwhelmed

Amongst the recent Indian films that are being screened at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, director Shyam Benegal’s 1976 film ‘Manthan’ has also found a spot. A remastered version of this film that stars Naseeruddin Shah and late actor Smita Patil was premiered at the prestigious film festival. The screening of ‘Manthan’ was attended by Patil’s son, actor Prateik Babbar. In a recent interview, the actor opened up about his experience of watching his mother’s film at Cannes.

In a conversation with India Today, Prateik Babbar talked about how he felt as he watched ‘Manthan’ at Cannes. He mentioned how proud he was of her mother and the legacy she has left behind. He said, “It was an extremely proud moment for me as her son. Being celebrated 37 years after her death at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival was a historic event for Indian cinema and the entire team of ‘Manthan’. I was overwhelmed.”

Babbar talked about how people reacted to ‘Manthan.’ He mentioned how Patil was 20 years old when she worked on this film. He said, “Everybody was in absolute awe of her brilliant and mature performance. She was all of 20 years old and untrained as an actor when she shot the film. This just proves that she was born to be one of the greatest actors to ever do it. I have humongous shoes to fill, but I embrace it all and will never stop striving to be just like her.”

Co-written by Verghese Kurien and Vijay Tendulkar, ‘Manthan’ is set against the backdrop of India's White Revolution and showcases the power of collective effort. Notably, it was India's first crowdfunded film, financed by 500,000 farmers who contributed Rs 2. The film garnered significant accolades, winning the 1977 National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi and Best Screenplay for Tendulkar. Additionally, it was selected as India's submission for the 1976 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.