Singer Preeti Sagar performed the Mero Gaam Katha Parey song from Shyam Benegal-helmed Manthan in the presence of the filmmaker ahead of the theatrical release of a restored version of the 1976 movie, shows a video shared by Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) founder-director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday.
The video also captures the singer sharing a moment of laughter with Benegal.
“What a moving moment as Preeti Sagar sings the famous ‘Manthan’ song to Shyam Benegal before the release of the film tomorrow. Just can’t believe she sang ‘My heart is beating’ in Julie before that,” wrote Dungarpur alongside the video on social media.
The restored version of Manthan, the first crowdfunded film of India, released in more than 50 Indian cities on June 1. It was showcased at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival under the Classics segment on May 17.
Restored by the Film Heritage Foundation at Prasad Corporation’s post-studios and the Bologna-based L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, the project was completed in association with Benegal and cinematographer Govind Nihalani. The re-release coincides with World Milk Day, fitting for a film that chronicles India's milk cooperative movement.
Starring Girish Karnad, Mohan Agashe, Anant Nag, Amrish Puri, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Smita Patil and Naseeruddin Shah, Manthan draws inspiration from Dr Verghese Kurien's transformative milk cooperative movement. Co-written by Benegal and playwright Vijay Tendulkar, the film stands as a testament to grassroots funding, supported by 500,000 farmers, each of whom donated Rs 2 to the production of the film.
The restored version of the film will be screened in multiple theatres across several Indian cities, including Mumbai, New Delhi, Anand, Rajkot, Chennai, Kochi, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Chandigarh.
Manthan won two National Film Awards in 1977 for best feature film in Hindi and best screenplay for Tendulkar. It was also India’s official entry to the 1976 Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
