When I was born, my parents had already seen this classic. So I intended seeing it a couple of times myself usually saw it on old DoorDarshan in early/mid 80s and then on CD. So here is the product...
Story - Line
Radha (Nargis) now an old woman remembers her past. Her family has to work extremely hard to pay off a money-lender Sukhilala (Kanhaiyalal). Her husband (Raj Kumar) loses both his arms in an accident and feeling useless abandons the family. Alone, Radha has to raise her children while fending off financial as well as sexual pressures from Sukhilala. One son dies in a flood, and in later years one son Ramu (Rajendra Kumar) grows to be a dutiful son while the other Birju (Sunil Dutt) becomes a rebel committed to direct, violent action. Finally to preserve the honour of the village, Radha puts an end to Birju’s rebellious activities by shooting him down.
The film
Mother India is the ultimate tribute to Indian Womanhood! This epic saga of the sufferings of an Indian peasant woman has an inherent appeal, being typical of the Indian situation. So tremendous was its success that the film is infact a reference point in the long-suffering mother genre and is like an Indian Gone With the Wind.
The film makes heavy use of symbolism and nationalist allegory. (The peasants forming a chorus outlining a map of India) In fact everything about the film is highly charged right down to the strong, earthy central performance of Nargis. Remove Nargis and there is no Mother India.
Other strong performances in the film come from Sunil Dutt as the wayward son Birju.
My mother told me stories of a well-known tryst that took place while shooting for the film, Nargis was trapped amidst lit haystacks. As the flames got wilder, Sunil Dutt ran through the fire and rescued her. He then proposed to her and Nargis married Sunil Dutt and quit films after marriage.
The Film became the first Indian Film to be nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Film Category and at the 1958 Academy Awards lost out to another masterpiece Federico Fellini’s Nights of Caberia.
The songs in the movie were equally touchy and had an air of rural India in them. My favourite is... ’’Na Main Bhagawan Hoon’’ which was filmed on Sunil Dutt. Maybe cause I relate to the character well... Rebellious !!
Its influence continues to be seen in Hindi Films till today like Deewaar, Waaris and Karan Arjun.