Jayen Mehta speaking after the screening of ‘Manthan’ at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. Photo Credit: ARSI Sebastian Photograph

Something unique was seen at the Cannes Film Festival on 17th May. 4K version of Shyam Benegal’s parallel cinema classic churn It was screened at the Salle Buñuel Theater in the Cannes Classics Sidebar. Released 48 years ago, the film was India’s first crowdfunded film: 5,00,000 farmers donated ₹2 each to make the project a success. Its unusual patronage was in keeping with the grassroots movement it admired: Verghese Kurien’s efforts to run a milk cooperative in Anand, Gujarat.

Kurien, known as the Milk Man of India, was the architect of the country’s dairy revolution. His modernization efforts freed dairy farmers from the clutches of monopolists, made India the world’s leading milk producer, and transformed Anand Milk Union Limited (AMUL) into a global brand. Today, AMUL is Asia’s largest cooperative dairy brand.

Jayne Mehta, Naseeruddin Shah, Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Prateik Babbar and others at the Cannes red carpet in France on May 17

Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) MD Jayen Mehta, better known by its brand name AMUL, walked the red carpet with Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah and late actor Smita Patil’s son Prateik Babbar. Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, founder-director of the Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) and late Kurian’s daughter Nirmala Kurian were also present on the occasion. 89-year-old Shyam Benegal could not attend the festival due to his ill health.

churn The entourage had a busy itinerary: a media briefing at the India Pavilion in Cannes, followed by the red carpet and screening. The film received a five-minute standing ovation from the packed hall, said Mehta, who joined Shah, Babbar and Dungarpur on stage for a question-and-answer session. “I talked about the relevance of present times churn And shared some statistics with the audience,” says Mehta. “50 years ago AMUL had a modest turnover of ₹20 crore. Today our target is revenue. ₹80,000 crore. Milk is the biggest agricultural crop and we have 2,00,000 milk dairy cooperative societies in the country.

‘Manthan’ gets standing ovation at Cannes

He further added, “When people judge the success of a film by box-office numbers.” “But churnIn this light its success is incomparable.

Benegal’s film, which won the National Award for Best Hindi Feature, was India’s submission for the 1976 Oscars and had a lasting impact, highlighting the plight of dairy farmers and the caste discrimination they faced in newly independent India. and highlighted the barriers of gender oppression.

“It raised relevant issues like women empowerment that continue to resonate,” says Mehta. The film is an integral part of AMUL’s cultural heritage. “Whoever joins the cooperative, we show him the first film churn,

Smita Patil and Girish Karnad churn

Mehta praised the ultra-high-definition restoration churn, The film was restored and digitized from its original camera negative over a period of 17 months. Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation funded this venture.

“The work done by the Film Heritage Foundation churn Awe-inspiring,” says Mehta. “The sound, the colors, the textures, the textures… it all came out wonderfully. In fact, when Benegal saw it, he said it looked better than the original. Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Sanjay Jaju also participated in it. churn The briefing reiterated the government’s intention to restore 4,000 films in our national archives, Mehta said.

After the reception in Cannes, the restored version of churn Will be released in select theaters in India on June 1 and 2. A premiere show has also been planned in Mumbai, where Benegal and other surviving cast and crew members will be present. “The film will be released in major multiplexes in at least 30 cities,” says Mehta.