Veteran actors Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Prateik Babbar, Nirmala Kurien, the daughter of Dr. Verghese Kurien, and Jayen Mehta, Amul MD, graced the red carpet at the ongoing 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival for the screening of the 1976 film, ‘Manthan.’
Amul India shared highlights of the event on its official social media account. Shyam Benegal’s timeless masterpiece was showcased in a restored 4k version during a prestigious gala at Salle Bunuel on Friday, May 17.
The caption reads, “‘Manthan’ team of Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Prateik Babbar, Ms Nirmala Kurien, @filmheritagefoundation team, & Shri Jayen_Mehta, MD, Amul, representing 3.6 million farmer producers of the film at @festivaldecannes #ManthanAtCannes”
‘Manthan,’ which featured the late actress Smita Patil, stands apart as the only Indian film chosen for the Cannes Classic section of this year’s esteemed festival. The movie also starred Girish Karnad, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Mohan Agashe, Anant Nag, and Amrish Puri, among many others.
The movie is about the father of the White Revolution in India, Dr. Verghese Kurien and his milk cooperative movement. It was made possible by 500,000 dairy farmers from the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which sells products under the brand of Amul India. These farmers each donated Rs 2 to fund the film, and has since, gone on to be known as the country’s first-ever crowd-funded movie. The story is set in Gujarat and was written by Kurien and Vijay Tendulkar.
The premiere of the film’s restored version at Cannes was attended by Naseeruddin Shah, the family of the late Smita Patil, the producers of the film, and Film Heritage Foundation’s Shivendra Singh Dungarpur. After its screening, it was met with a round of applause.
Shyam Benegal, speaking about the film’s screening at Cannes, previously remarked, as per ANI, “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.”
Cannes Film Festival 2024 kicked off on May 14 and will go on till May 25.
