India’s first crowdfunded film 'Manthan' starring Naseeruddin Shah and Smita Patil gets a standing ovation at Cannes

The 77th Cannes Film Festival is currently underway at the French Riviera. This year, Shyam Benegal's masterpiece ‘Manthan’ was screened at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. India's first crowdfunded film joined their ranks, receiving a standing ovation at the festival.

Shyam Benegal’s National Award-winning 'Manthan' (1976) starring Naseeruddin Shah, the late Smita Patil, and the late Girish Karnad received a standing ovation at the film festival.

Now, the pictures from the screening featuring Naseeruddin Shah and his wife-actor Ratna Pathak Shah, along with Smita Patil's actor-son Prateik Babbar, and Verghese Kurien's daughter, Nirmala Kurien have surfaced on the internet.

Naseeruddin Shah, made his debut at Cannes, walked the red carpet in a white 'gala bandh' sherwani, while his wife Ratna wore a saree.

The Film Heritage Foundation, a not-for-profit organization founded by filmmaker and archivist Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, returned to the red carpet at Cannes for the third consecutive year last night for the world premiere.

'Manthan' is a fictionalized account of the extraordinary dairy cooperative movement that transformed India from a milk-deficient nation to the world's largest milk producer. Inspired by Dr. Verghese Kurien, the Father of the White Revolution, the film chronicles this remarkable transformation.

For the unversed, India’s first crowdfunded film was produced by 500,000 dairy farmers, each contributing Rs. 2 towards its production. It also starred Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Anant Nag, and Suresh Bedi in pivotal roles. The movie will premiere in theatres nationwide on World Milk Day falling on June 1, 2024.