‘Mother India’, the film was released on October 25, 1957. I was only 9 years old. It was producer-director Mehboob Khan’s blockbuster, of epic proportions that was called India’s Gone With the Wind. The film was a remake of Mehboob Khan’s film Aurat, released in 1940. Mother India was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1958. In India, the film received the Best Movie of the Year Award from Filmfare. Even after 50 years, it is considered an all time hit in India.
Mother India is a film about an Indian peasant family of Northern India, struggling to survive in a rural community and coming to terms with a newly independent country, freed by the British Colonial Rule. The film starts with a newly married couple, Radha (Nargis) and Shamu (Raj Kumar), who are married in a traditional style. The wedding was paid for by a loan raised by the groom’s mother, from a typical, crooked money-lender Sukhi Lala (Kanhaiya Lal). Immediately after the wedding, the terms of the loan are revealed to the young couple. The conditions of the loan are disputed by the newly-weds but the Panchayat (village elders) rules in the lender’s favor. Shamu and Radha are forced to forfeit 75% of their crop just as interest on the loan of 500 rupees. The couple tries to till more land to alleviate the hardship but in the process, Shamu’s arms are crushed by a boulder. A crippled Shamu abandons his family in shame, leaving behind three small children and a young bride.
The theme of the film is the struggle of a single mother (Mother India), left helpless by the husband and the society in general. She fights the challenges of life with grit and honor. Two of her surviving sons grew up as Birju (Sunil Dutt) and Ramu (Rajendra Kumar). The story line is rooted in the soil of India and is easily identified by the masses. The performances of Nargis in particular and Sunil Dutt in general were of exceptional caliber. Mehboob Khan’s direction was virtually perfect. The music of Naushad Ali was popular beyond expectations. I watched the film atleast a dozen times over the last 50 years and so did a lot of people in India.
Filed under: Bollywood | Tagged: Filmfare, India, Mother India, October 25th 1957, Producer-Director, Mehboob Khan, Gone With the Wind, Aurat, Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Best Movie of the Award, Indian Peasant Family, Northern India, Newly Independent Country, British Colonial Rule, Radha, Nargis, Shamu, Raj Kumar, Money-Lender, Sukhi Lala, Kanhaiya Lal), Newly-Weds, Panchayat, Birju, Sunil Dutt, Ramu, Rajendra Kumar, Naushad Ali
