Manthan breathes anew in Cannes

A significant slice of New Indian Cinema history was under the spotlight at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on Friday night. A restored 4K version of Manthan (The Churning), Shyam Benegal’s 1976 film about the creation of India’s first dairy cooperative in a Gujarat village, lit up the screen at Salle Bunuel.

Naseeruddin Shah, a key member of the film’s cast, spoke ahead of the screening. “First and foremost, this show of Manthan is dedicated to Dr Verghese Kurien,” the veteran actor said. “It is also an occasion to recall Smita Patil, Girish Karnad, Amrish Puri and music composer Vanraj Bhatia.” “It was my second film as a screen actor,” Shah said. “I was extremely nervous about how it would do at the box office. Nobody gave the film a ghost of chance but it turned out to be a sleeper hit that generated more work for all of us.” Smita Patil’s son Prateik Babbar was on the stage to share his emotions.