Shyam Benegal’s ‘Manthan’ Receives Special Screening at Cannes Classic; Naseeruddin Shah Pays Tribute to Team

At the screening of Shyam Benegal’s 48-year-old film “Manthan” in the Cannes Classic section of the 77th Cannes Film Festival, veteran Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah expressed his pride in Indian cinema. He commemorated the team behind “Manthan”, many of whom are no longer with us. The Film Heritage Foundation, founded by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur in Mumbai, preserved the film in 4K, allowing it to be featured at Cannes. This marks the third consecutive year that Indian films supported by this institution have been showcased at the festival.

Manthan’s lead actors Girish Karnad, Smita Patil, and Amrish Puri have passed away, as have the scriptwriter Vijay Tendulkar and dialogue writer Kaifi Azmi. The film’s cinematography was done by Govind Nihalani, with music composed by Vanraj Bhatia. Shyam Benegal could not attend due to illness. The Cannes Film Festival honored Naseeruddin Shah and the entire “Manthan” team with a ceremonial red carpet. Shivendra Singh Dungarpur announced that “Manthan” would be released in 70 cities across India on June 1.

Naseeruddin Shah highlighted that “Manthan” was India’s first crowdfunded film. Five lakh farmers from Gujarat contributed a total of ten lakh rupees, donating two rupees each. At the age of thirty-three, Varghese Kurien founded the first milk production cooperative society in a village in Kheda district, Gujarat, which later became the Amul Cooperative Society in Anand.

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Shah reflected that ‘Manthan” was only the second film of his career and praised Shyam Benegal for elevating the aesthetics of Indian cinema. He recalled the film’s release, feeling nervous due to its lack of glamour, dance, songs, or special action sequences. He lauded the cast’s performance and the serious commitment of the team. Smita Patil’s son, Prateek Babbar, shared his feelings, noting that he only knew his mother through her films as she passed away shortly after his birth. Attending Cannes for the first time, he expressed his overwhelming happiness.

The audience gave a standing ovation to Naseeruddin Shah at the Buñuel Theater after the “Manthan” screening, recognizing the film as a historical document of Indian cinema. The film’s scenography is a mix of stylized and realistic elements, avoiding sentimentality and featuring natural acting.

“Manthan” follows Dr. Rao (Girish Karnad), a veterinary surgeon, who along with his colleagues, Chandravarkar (Aanth Nag) and Deshmukh (Dr. Mohan Agashe), arrives in a Gujarat village where poor farmers depend on milk sales. They aim to establish a milk production cooperative society. Mishra ji (Amrish Puri), who profits from buying milk cheaply and selling it at higher prices in the city, opposes this. Initially, the village sarpanch (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) supports Mishra ji, but as Dalit participation increases, he becomes an adversary, leading to conspiracies. Bhola (Naseeruddin Shah), an angry young Dalit, rallies the Dalits to defeat the Sarpanch in the elections. In retaliation, the Sarpanch sets fire to the Dalit colony and orchestrates Dr. Rao’s transfer. Chandravarkar leaves the village after an affair with a Dalit girl. Dr. Rao’s wife falls ill upon visiting the village. Bindu (Smita Patil), a brave Dalit woman, supports Dr. Rao, but her missing husband returns, accusing Dr. Rao of adultery. The film ends with Dr. Rao and his wife departing on a train, while Bhola continues the struggle to establish the dairy cooperative society despite ongoing conspiracies.