Cinematic churn

Naseeruddin Shah was overwhelmed with a complex swirl of emotions as he walked the red carpet at the 77th Cannes Film Festival earlier this week.

The veteran actor, known for his sharp acerbic wit and stoic demeanour, admitted that he could barely hold back his tears during the world premiere of Manthan, a 1976 film directed by celebrated auteur Shyam Benegal, at the picturesque resort town situated on the French Riviera.

Loosely based on the milk cooperative movement in Gujarat pioneered by Verghese Kurien, this film was entirely crowdfunded by 5,00,000 farmers who donated Rs 2 each.

Manthan boasts of a stellar cast that included Girish Karnad, Amrish Puri, Smita Patil, and Mr Shah, who incidentally learnt how to milk buffaloes during the making of this film.

This timeless classic that portrayed the power of the collective might was screened at this edition’s Cannes Classics Sidebar.

Mr Shah called Manthan the Kohinoor diamond in his star-studded filmography. “It is the most important film that I have done,” he had remarked.

Manthan, India’s first crowd-funded film, was not made to fill the coffers of the producers. It was made to empower the marginalised.

Nearly five decades after its release, the film stands out for its nuanced narrative, knockout performances, and enduring appeal.

Mr Benegal made this film at a crucial juncture in India’s history. The country had just emerged from the throes of the Emergency. Unemployment was rampant, and the economy had come to a grinding halt. In the midst of this widespread gloom, the masses sought refuge in the commercial potboilers dished out by Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, and Dharmendra.

Mr Benegal was not swayed by such commercial implications. He, along with Vijay Tendulkar, Girish Kasaravalli, Govind Nihalani, and KG George, was more inclined towards providing an alternative to mainstream commercial cinema. In essence, they were the champions of the Parallel cinema movement, the seeds of which were sown in the 1950s by acclaimed Bengali filmmakers such as Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, and Mrinal Sen.

Parallel cinema hit its apogee in the 1970s, with Manthan, and the movement continued well into the next decade. It went downhill in the 1990s. Limited box office appeal and the lack of institutional support led to the proliferation of more of the same: Films with the usual song and dance routines, mindless fight sequences and cringe-worthy college romances.

At the turn of the century, filmmakers, however, garnered a fair bit of courage to experiment with middle-of-the-road offerings. Notably, filmmakers like Vishal Bharadwaj, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Navdeep Singh and Hansal Mehta appeared on the horizon.

Abhay Deol, an actor who refused to conform to the diktats of mainstream Bollywood, also ushered in some interesting films in this period. Manorama Six Feet Under, Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye, DevDm and The Road are the case in point.  But the flame flickered only for a brief period, as reigning Bollywood stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, and Hrithik Roshan tantalised audiences with their loud, over-the-top performances in lavishly mounted big-budget films.

A film’s success was no longer gauged by its storytelling, performances or aesthetic appeal. The Rs 100 crore club became the official tag to judge a film’s success. The pandemic led to an explosion in over-the-top (OTT) subscriptions due to its affordable rates, and hassle-free internet access. This opened the doors to pristine gems from regional cinema, masterpieces from world cinema, and documentaries from a treasure trove of offerings.Binge-watching has become the watchword for consuming entertainment.

Thanks to the OTT boom, Malayalam cinema has enthralled audiences from across the country, so much so that people are breaking the one-inch subtitle barrier and queuing up in front of theatres.

Take the case of Manjummel Boys, a gripping survival thriller, made on a modest budget of Rs 18 crore has raked in over Rs 240 crore at the box office globally.

The roaring success of Manjummel Boys offers hope for content-driven films. Perhaps, mainstream Hindi filmmakers can take a cue.

Mr Shah, however, is not impressed.

“It really disappoints me that we take pride in saying Hindi cinema is 100 years old, we have been making the same films. I have stopped watching Hindi films, I don’t like them at all,” the 74-year-old told PTI.

“Hindustani food is loved everywhere because it has substance. What substance do Hindi films have?” he added.

After the gala premiere at Cannes, the restored version of Manthan is poised for a theatrical re-release in 100 cinemas across India next month.

Will it captivate the new-age audience?