Restored version of India's first crowd-funded movie Manthan screened at Cannes, Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah walk the red carpet

The two actors were seen sporting ethnic attire during their Cannes appearance for the late Smita Patil-starrer Shyam Benegal film which was inspired by the milk cooperative movement or ‘Operation Flood’ in Gujarat transforming India from a milk-deficient country to the world’s largest milk producer and gave birth to the celebrated brand Amul.

Nasiruddin Shah, who is one of the actors in the film, said promoting the film at Cannes made him emotional as most of the leading actors associated with Manthan, like Smita Patil, Amrish Puri and Girish Karnad, are no longer alive. 

Late actor Smita Patil's son Prateik Babbar also joined them to walk the red carpet of the event.

Sharing images of the screening of the movie, Film Heritage Foundation said in a Facebook post: "It was a truly memorable evening as FHF's restoration of 'Manthan' had its world premiere yesterday at the Festival de Cannes 2024 ending with a standing ovation for Naseeruddin Shah and much appreciation for the quality of the restoration the audience. We wish Shyam Benegal had been with us to enjoy the moment."

Why Manthan is a special movie?

Manthan, also released under the translated title The Churning, is a 1976 Hindi film directed by Shyam Benegal, inspired by the pioneering milk cooperative movement of Verghese Kurien, and is written jointly by him and Vijay Tendulkar.

Manthan is the first crowdfunded Indian film.

The film won the 1977 National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi and National Film Award for Best Screenplay for Vijay Tendulkar, and was also India's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for 1976.

(Manthan movie poster courtesy: Wikimedia Commons)