Mother India

It is a 1957 film directed by Mehboob Khan. Nargis,Sunil Dutt,Raj Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, Kumkum,Sitara Devi, Mukri starred in this film. An Indian epic drama was a remake of Mehboob Khan’s 1940 film,’Aurat’. It is a story of a poverty stricken village woman called Radha(Nargis ).Her struggles to raise her sons in the absence of her husband. She survives among other things the clutches of the cunning money lender.

It ranks among the all time hits in Indian cinema. It got the all India certificate of the best feature film & filmfare’s best film award. Nargis got the best actress award & Mehboob Khan the best director award. It was nominated for the best foreign language film in the academy awards. Mother India is regarded as Nargis’s finest performance before she married & retired from films.It was during the shooting that Dutt saved Nargis as they were shooting without a double. She wanted to marry after the completion of the film but Mehboob Khan made them wait,thinking the audience may not accept the mother son on screen becoming a couple off screen.

The entire film is in flashback, when she is asked to inaugurate the irrigation canal, her memories come crashing. Starting from the newly weds to the fight she had to stand upright in the society. Of her two sons, one (Sunil Dutt ) becomes a bandit & kidnaps Rupa, the village belle, on her wedding day. He ignores his mother’s warning & tries to flee. He is gunned down by his mother. He dies in her arms.

There are total 12 songs in the film.’Nagari nagari dware dware.. by Lata Mangeshkar,’Duniya mein hum aaye hai… by Lata, Meena & Usha Mangeshkar,’ O gaadiwale gadi dhire…by Shamshad Begum, Mohd. Rafi,’Dukh bhare din beete re bhaiya…,’ Holi aayi re Kanhai…by Shamshad Begum, Rafi, Asha Bhosle. All of them are melodious & remembered till date.

The end brought in tears & claps for the justice done. For the entire film she is a loving mother but when situation demands she can punish her child.This image of a strong woman…a mother…. was much needed at the time.

Around the period of Indepence was needed the upliftment of the national image & the film had the capacity to do so. Radha pulling the plough in the field is one of the iconic images that have been imitated again & again in so many films later. “Karan Arjun” or “Ram Lakhan” boosted Rakhi’s image. She featured as a mother in many films in her second innings.

More about mothers later. Signing off for now.