Proud moment

The 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival will always hold a special place in actor Prateik Babbar’s life, as his mother Smita Patil’s film Manthan is scheduled to be screened at the prestigious gala. During the early hours of Thursday, Pateik was spotted at the Mumbai airport as he left for Cannes. The film premiere will also be attended by Naseeruddin Shah. It will be screened today.

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Manthan, which starred Naseeruddin Shah and late actress Smita Patil, is the only Indian film to be selected under the Cannes Classic section of the festival this year. The film was inspired by the pioneering milk cooperative movement of Verghese Kurien, who led ‘Operation Flood’ to transform India from a milk-deficient country to the world’s biggest milk producer, and is credited for creating the billion-dollar brand Amul.

The Shyam Benegal’s directorial won two National Film Awards in 1977 — for Best Feature Film in Hindi and Best Screenplay. It was also India’s official entry to the 1976 Academy Awards in the best foreign language film category. Elated about it, Shyam Benegal said, “I was absolutely delighted when told that the Film Heritage Foundation was going to restore Manthan in collaboration with the Gujarat Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. Manthan is a film that is very close to my heart, as it was funded by 5,00,000 farmers and was instrumental in the growth of an extraordinary cooperative movement.”

On his part, Naseeruddin Shah stated, “I started my career as an actor with Nishant followed by Manthan, both directed by Shyam Benegal. Manthan was a runaway success when it was released almost 50 years ago and it is a film that is remembered even today. I remember that during the shooting of Manthan, I lived in a hut, learnt how to make cow dung cakes and milk a buffalo. I would carry the buckets and serve the milk to the unit to get the physicality of the character.” — ANI

Classic cut

Manthan is the only Indian film to be selected under the Cannes Classic section of the festival this year.