The return of ‘Manthan’

Shyam Benegal’s ode to V Kurien, the milkman of India, is restored and back in theatres. Mayanka Jain Parichha watches it with a diverse crowd.

Delhi’s PVR Premiere, Saket, on June 1, was an unusual sight. It was nearly packed, and that was not for any new release. People came to watch a film that was released in 1976 — Shyam Benegal’s ‘Manthan’. The film created history by becoming the first restored film to be screened in 51 cities. Despite technical challenges in the original
35 mm film, like green mold, fungus, flicker problems, and lost sound, Film Heritage Foundation, a non profit working on conservation of films restored it successfully.

Film restoration became popular in India in 2010, when the legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation successfully restored Ritwik Ghatak’s ‘Titas Ekti Nadir Naam’. It had received huge traction. With ‘Manthan’ now, cinephiles hope for more such projects. The release of the film, 48 years after its initial release, amassed viewers of various generations. The restored print of the film looks neat, except for minor lulls with the sound and the print. 

‘Manthan’ starts with Dr Rao, a veterinary doctor, (Girish Karnad), and his associates, who arrive at a village in the Kheda district of Gujarat. The primary occupation of the villagers is cattle rearing, and producing milk. Rao’s objective is to form a cooperative society for villagers that will be managed and owned by them. However, the process of forming a cooperative society becomes mired in village politics and caste division. His attempts to bring all the villagers on the same page fail. He also faces other challenges.

Rao slowly wins the trust of villagers, and gets them a fair prize. But the resentment between the Harijans (Dalits) and upper caste, allows Mishra (Amrish Puri), a local dairy owner, to prevent villagers from uniting. Mishra makes sure the villagers continue to sell him milk at a meagre cost. Rao has to return without making any stride.

The film very well captures the caste dynamics of rural society and how it takes primacy on everything. Smita Patil, who played the character of feisty Bindu, a mother of a child, and whose drunkard husband has supposedly deserted her, is remarkably interesting. The tension between her and Dr Rao, and their equation is portrayed well on screen. The melancholy of the last scene — when Dr Rao, before leaving the village goes to say goodbye to Bindu, and her husband does not let him meet her — was very well captured by the song ‘Mero gaam katha parey’, sung by Preeti Sagar. Smita Patil with her acting and beauty made it her own.

All other actors, like the village head played by Kulbhushan Kharbanda and the rebellious Bhola, a fiery young man who resents the upper caste dominance in the cooperative society, played by Naseeruddin Shah, are very pleasing to watch. Benegal didn’t make this film a typical one with all hopes and a happy ending. The story is realistic and ends with a spark among villagers to form a cooperative society.

‘Manthan’ remained important in Indian cinema. It was made as a tribute to the milkman of India, Varghese Kurien. It shows the transforming potential a film holds. Around five lakh dairy farmers of Gujarat’s Kheda district contributed two rupees each, making it the first crowdfunded film. Its screening inspired more people to form collectives to sell milk. In May, the film was screened along with Akira Kurosawa’s ‘Seven Samurai’ (1954) and ‘Paris, Texas’ (1984) by Wim Wenders in the 77th Cannes Festival’s classics section.