Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah recently attended the Cannes Film Festival as a part of the screening of his 1976 film Manthan, almost 50 years after its release. The actor, who was accompanied on the red carpet by his wife Ratna Pathak Shah, called the experienced as “terribly emotional.” Speaking with Brut India, the actor said, “It felt unreal to me. I have always seen the red carpet ceremony either on video or in photographs. I’ve witnessed these lovely women strutting around in their exquisite costumes. I had no idea that one day I would be involved in that. So my wife and I decided to make things as easy as we could. It was also, naturally, an extremely emotional experience. because a large number of friends appeared in the movie. Girish was my teacher and a friend. He oversaw FTII as its director. Amrish and Smita were close friends. They are all no longer present.”
He also added, “So many faces which one had sort of slipped one’s memory. To see all those people again who used to, who were almost everybody in the unit got dragged in… I felt very proud, prouder of this film than I have ever felt. I’ve always treasured this film very dearly to my heart. So it was a moving experience, I could hardly hold back the tears. And I find that the film has really stood the test of time.”
On Friday night at the Cannes Film Festival, Manthan was screened. Naseeruddin, his spouse Ratna Pathak Shah, the son Prateik Babbar of the late Smita Patil, Verghese Kurien’s daughter Nirmala Kurien, and the sisters of Smita Patil—Anita Patil Deshmukh and Manya Patil Seth—were present.
Shyam Benegal’s Manthan draws inspiration from Verghese Kurien’s groundbreaking milk cooperative movement.