Manthan- Classic Hindi Movie-1976

A government official is sent from Bombay with a small team of helpers to set up a milk cooperative in a little village in Gujarat State. They quickly run into problems. Manthan is a complex but dramatically strong interweaving of themes, most notably Shyam Benegal's recurring interest in the relationship between sexuality and politics together with the problem of caste which Benegal suggests can only be changed by political action at the grass-roots level. Benegal portrays the power relations in the village between the Untouchables, the traditional middle castes, the rising rural capitalists and the new middle-class led cooperative. There are no easy solutions. The hero's limitations are shown - his inability to fully commit himself politically or personally. Manthan was financed by 500,000 local farmers who each donated 2 rupees (about 20 cents) through their cooperatives. The film was successful with Indian audiences.

Manthan (English: Churning) is a 1976 Hindi film directed by Shyam Benegal, inspired by the pioneering milk cooperative movement of Verghese Kurien, and is written jointly by him and Vijay Tendulkar. It is set amidst the backdrop of the White Revolution of India. Aside from the great measurable success that this project was, it also demonstrated the power of "collective might" as it was entirely crowdfunded by 500,000 farmers who donated Rs. 2 each. Manthan is the first crowdfunded Indian film.

The film won the 1977 National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi and National Film Award for Best Screenplay for Vijay Tendulkar, and was also India's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for 1976.

The title song ("Mero Gaam") was sung by Preeti Sagar. She won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer for that year. The song was later used as the soundtrack for the television commercial for Amul.