Exclusive: Manthan’s team reminisces at the premiere of the restored version; The film starring Smita Patil could have been the first in India and one of the first films in the world to have a prequel: Bollywood News
Shyam Benegal’s Masterpiece Mansun (1976) was restored to its full glory by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur of the Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) earlier this year. The restored version was screened at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, with the film’s production team in attendance. Now, Indian audiences have had the chance to see the film. Mansun was released in cinemas on June 1 and 2 by PVR Inox. Moreover, the premiere of the film was held at Mumbai’s iconic Eros Cinema on June 1 and was attended by the film’s team, namely director Shyam Benegal, cinematographer Govind Nihalani (an acclaimed director in his own right), actors Naseeruddin Shah, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Abba Dhulia, assistant director Prahlad Kakkar, art director Shyama Zaidi, singer Priti Sagar and lyricist Namita Sagar. Others in attendance included late actor Smita Patil’s son Prateik Babbar, Amrish Puri’s grandson Vardhan Puri, Ratna Pathak Shah, Richa Chadha, Ali Fazal and Shashi Kapoor’s son Kunal Kapoor. Mansun The event was supported by Amul and was also attended by Manoranjan Pani, General Manager, Sales & Marketing, Amul. Bollywood Hungama Not only the red carpet, but the team Mansun I looked back on my memories.
Shivendra Singh Dungarpur began, “I don’t know where the negatives are. It’s such a shame. Mr Benegal has written to Amul. They have generously supported the entire endeavour. When I went to the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) to collect the negatives, I found that they had green mould growing on them. There was no sound negative. The sound was digitised from the 35mm release prints. You will notice that some scenes are out of sync. There was nothing that could be done about it. There is a green burn in many of the close-up shots.”
But Shivendra praised L’Immagine Ritrovata, saying: “They’ve done an amazing job. They’re the best lab in the world!”
Shyam Benegal narrated the famous story of Dr. Verghese Kurian, the architect of India’s White Revolution, suggesting that farmers donate Rs 2 to crowdfund the film. Shyam also said, “Dr. Kurian once suggested that I make a sequel to ‘White Revolution.'” Mansun“I said, ‘How could there be a sequel to a movie like this? No way.’ And he said, ‘If you want to make a sequel, go for it. If not, forget it.'”
The veteran film director Mansun It found audiences in India and elsewhere, he said, and “it was screened all over the world. It was released in Paris, London, Moscow and finally in Beijing. It was screened almost all over the world.”
When asked how it felt to work alongside Shyam Benegal in his second film, Naseeruddin Shah said, “It was also my second film as an actor! I prayed so hard for the film to be seen and for my work to reach the audience. It was an emotional experience to see it on the big screen in Cannes after so many decades. The audience, mostly French, found it amazing even though they didn’t understand the language. They all loved the songs.” (“Melo Gum Kata Paley”) As usual!
Naseeruddin Shah dedicated ‘Manthan’ to Dr Kurien and added, “We must not forget those in the big studio in the sky, our dear friends who are no longer with us.”
He praised FHF, saying, “Not only have they restored the film and made it available to future generations, but as Shyam himself said, it looks even better than the original print. I am confident that the film has the visual beauty that Govind and Shyam originally intended.” The actor drew laughs with his trademark “Freeriders, buy your tickets and watch the film again tomorrow!”
Shama Zaidi also added to the fun. She revealed, “I was Prahlad Kakkar’s escort in the mornings. I had to escort him to the fields (when he had to relieve himself). He got caught by a bunch of women going to fetch water! That scene too has been included in the film.”
She further added, “Shyam asked me to work on the dialogues and script because the Amul people said, ‘It’s a very good script but it doesn’t represent our work properly. It’s not technically correct’. So, we had to go with what they said and how the cooperative was formed.”
Sharma elaborated further on the idea behind it. MansunTalking about the sequel, he said, “Dr Kurian wanted the first film to be a flop. It really surprised me. He wanted it to be set in the Nilgiris, the place where he had tried to set up a cooperative society but failed. But he learnt through that experience and later became successful. But we didn’t make that film.”
As explained by Shama Zaidi, Dr Kurian wanted a prequel, not a sequel. Mansun. if MansunHad a prequel been made, it could have been India’s first prequel and one of the first in the world.
Next came Prahlad Kakkar’s turn, who narrated why he stayed behind in Sanganba village, where the film was shot, and not with the other unit members in Rajkot. He said, “The road from Rajkot to Sanganba was the worst road I have ever walked on. So, we decided to stay in the village. Me and my fellow assistants realised that there were no toilets! So, we had to carry a toilet.” Rota At dawn KateWhen Shyam found out that we would be staying in the village instead of commuting back and forth every day, he said, “Great, you will be in charge of the kitchen. There was no catering service in Sanganba village. We had to arrange an entire kitchen from Bombay and transport it to Sanganba. We prepared four meals a day for our unit.” Prahlad surprised his patrons by saying, “I prepared a dish with raw eggs and brandy. Even the vegetarians ate it (without knowing that it was a non-vegetarian dish).”
“I didn’t know the character I was playing until the day before the shoot. I trained for the role of a Banarasi man who chews bread all day,” said Kulbhushan Kharbanda. When he met Amrish Puri, he was shocked to realise that he too had been preparing for the same character in Mishra Ji.
“I have sought an explanation from Shyam Benegal,” Kulbhushan said. He said, “Make-up Karnashur Caro. Farmaine Butterfly. Isriyeye movie Hello! “
The conversation ended with a Priti Sagar song. “Melo gum kata parey.”The screening started and ran without a break.
Another interesting attraction is Mansun During the premiere, an Amul stall was set up in the F&B area where staff handed out complimentary ice creams and cold drinks, while the giant screen on the first floor was split in two to give the audience a glimpse of the original print and how much better the film has become after restoration.
Get the latest updates, New Bollywood Movies updates, New Movies Releases, Bollywood News Hindi and stay updated with the latest Hindi Movies only on Bollywood Hungama.
