This film had 5 lakh producers, gave boost to Rs 52000-crore company, now got Cannes screening 48 years after release

The Cannes Film Festival 2024, which is currently underway, has quite a bit of Indian flavour to it. For the first time in three decades, an Indian film is competing for the grand prize at the prestigious festival. But apart from that, there are a few other Indian films being screened at the festival, and one of them released in theatres 48 years ago.

The 1976 Bollywood hit getting screened at Cannes 2024

Shyam Benegal’s 1976 film Manthan was screened at the Cannes Film Festival this year. A restored version of the film was taken to the festival by the Film Heritage Foundation in the festival’s Cannes Classic section. The screening, which took place in the Bunuel Theatre at Cannes on Friday (May 17) was attended by Naseeruddin Shah, one of the stars of the film, along with his wife Ratna Pathak Shah, FHF President Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, as well as the daughters of Verghese Kurien, the man on whom the film was based. Prateik Babbar, son of the late Smita Patil, was also present at the screening. Manthan starred Smita and Naseer along with Girish Karnad, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, and Mohan Agashe, and was released in 1976. The low-budget film was a resounding success. Despite being made on a niche subject of dairy revolution in India, it managed to be a success at the box office.

Ratna Pathak Shah, Naseeruddin Shah, and Prateik Babbar at Manthan's Cannes screening

Manthan’s unique making and its five lakh ‘producers’

Manthan was India’s first crowdfunded film. Shyam Benegal had trouble securing funds for the film when he first began work on it. Not many producers and financiers wanted to bet on a film about such a niche subject. In the end, dairy farmers from across India took ownership of the film. Five lakh farmers each contributed Rs 2 towards the film’s budget, raising Rs 10 lakh, a lion’s share of the film’s final production cost of Rs 12 lakh. This way, the farmers’ collective became the film’s producer. The film’s success was instrumental in popularising the Anand Milk Union Limited, popularly known as Amul. The dairy company, whose story the film told, is now a Rs 52000-crore brand. Manthan was pivotal in raising its stature from a regional player to a nationally-relevant company.

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