Film Heritage Foundation has achieved a hat-trick at the Cannes Film Festival!

 The Film Heritage Foundation, associated with the Rajgharana of Doongarpur in Southern Rajasthan under the leadership of Shivendra Singh Doongarpur, has consistently entered the prestigious Cannes Film Festival for the third year in a row. 

This time, the Film Heritage Foundation has restored the popular film "Manthan" (1976), produced by renowned filmmaker Shyam Benegal, for the Cannes Film Festival 2024. The film has been chosen for the red-carpet world premiere. This acclaimed film, featuring actors like Naseeruddin Shah and the late actress Smita Patil, will be presented at this year's Cannes Film Festival by the daughter of the film's producer, Dr. Varghese Kurian, and Shivendra Singh Doongarpur, the director of the Film Heritage Foundation. The 77th Cannes Film Festival is scheduled to be held in France from May 14th to May 25th this year.

Prior to this, the foundation has had the opportunity to participate in the Cannes festival for two consecutive years with the restored versions of two films: Aravindam Production's Malayalam film "Thampi" in 2022 and Manipuri film producer Aribam Syam's classic film "Ishanou" in 2023. Now, "Manthan" will also have the opportunity to be a part of the Cannes red carpet world premiere show.

Renowned Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan expressed his joy at the selection of "Manthan" for the Cannes Film Festival, stating on his social media account, "I am proud that the Film Heritage Foundation has selected Shyam Benegal's film 'Manthan' for the Cannes Film Festival for the third consecutive year. It's a matter of great pride for me that this remarkable restored film, 'Manthan,' featuring extraordinary artists like Smita Patil, will be part of the world premiere show at Cannes this year." Amitabh mentioned that the work done by the Film Heritage Foundation to preserve, restore, and showcase India's best cinematic heritage to the world is remarkable.

Shivendra Singh Doongarpur revealed that on the occasion of Amul Dairy's golden anniversary, the Film Heritage Foundation, in collaboration with the Gujarat Milk Marketing Federation Limited, has collaborated to restore and refurbish Shyam Benegal's renowned film "Manthan," which was made by 5 lakh dairy farmers associated with the dairy cooperative movement. 

Producer-director Shyam Benegal and cinematographer Govind Nihalani also expressed their happiness at the inclusion of their restored film "Manthan" in the Cannes International Film Festival, stating that the film holds a special place in their hearts. They expressed gratitude to Shivendra Singh Doongarpur and his team for their hard work in restoring the film.

It is noteworthy that the popular 1976 film "Manthan" is a fictionalized version of the dairy cooperative movement's inception, which transformed India from a milk-deficient country to the world's largest milk producer. The dairy cooperative movement was inspired by the father of the White Revolution in India, Verghese Kurian. This acclaimed film is also India's first crowdfunded film, made by 5 lakh dairy farmers, each contributing ₹2 towards its production.