India@Cannes 2024: Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah and Prateik Babbar attend Manthan screening
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Directed by Shyam Benegal, this classic movie is one of the first crowd-funded movies. Set in Gujarat, the film is based on the White Revolution in India and shows the challenges and struggles of dairy farmers, who gave their full support in setting up a local milk cooperative, in Anand, Gujarat.
The prestigious Cannes Film Festival is currently underway and movies from around the globe are being presented at the festival. This year, the Indian classic movie Manthan was screened at the Cannes Classics section. To note, Shyam Benegal's movie has become the only Indian film to be screened at the section of the festival.
On Friday (May 17), the 1976 film premiered at Salle Bunuel, and for the special screening, the actor of movie, veteran star Naseeruddin Shah, his wife and actress Ratna Pathak Shah, the late actress Smita Patil's son, actor Prateik Babbar, Verghese Kurien's daughter, Nirmala Kurien, attended the screening.
Representing Indian cinema on a global stage, most of them were dressed in traditional attire. For his debut at Cannes, Shah wore an off-white sherwani. Meanwhile, his wife Ratna was wearing an elegant green saree. Prateek was donning an all-black look with a printed scarf wrapped in the collar of his shirt.
Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak happily posed for the camera as they waved at the crowd and walked inside the venue.
Before the screening of the movie, actor Prateik Babbar penned a note dedicated to his late mother and legendary actress Smita Patil. “The legacy continues 37 years since she left. And, yet she never ceases to blow my mind..seeing her face at the #2024 ‘Cannes Film Festival' 37 years after her death.. on a #1976 film poster of her film Manthan restored for a world premiere in the ‘Cannes classics section' will be one of the most symbolic & iconic celebratory moments of my life.. & her legacy (for me) it's difficult to articulate into words the whirlwind of emotions I've been feeling as soon as I found out the news.. but I think it's safe to say that I am the proudest son (sic).”
More About Manthan
Directed by Shyam Benegal, this classic movie is one of the first crowd-funded movies. Set in Gujarat, the film is based on the White Revolution of India and shows the challenges and struggles of dairy farmers, who gave their full support in setting up a local milk cooperative, in Anand, Gujarat.
The film was funded by around 500,000 rural farmers who each donated ₹2 each.
Back then, the movie won the 1977 National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi and National Film Award for Best Screenplay for Vijay Tendulkar. The film was also India's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1976.
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