Mother India Movie (1957) Interesting Facts
Mother India Movie Story Summary
In this melodrama, a poverty-stricken woman raises her sons through many trials and tribulations. But no matter the struggles, always sticks to her own moral code.
Mother India Movie Stars
Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar
Mother India Movie Storyline
The film begins with the finishing of a water canal for the village set in the present. Radha (Nargis), as the mother of the village, is asked to open the canal and remembers back to her past when she was newly married, mirroring the new independence of India. The wedding between Radha and Shamu (Raaj Kumar) was paid for by Radha's mother-in-law, who got a loan from the moneylender Sukhilala. This event starts the spiral of poverty and hardship that Radha endures. The conditions of the loan are disputed, but the village elders decide in favor of the moneylender, after which Shamu and Radha are forced to pay three-quarters of their crop as interest on the loan of 500 rupees. While trying to use more of their land to alleviate their poverty, Shamu's arms are crushed by a boulder. He is shamed by his helplessness and is humiliated by others in the village. Deciding that he is no use to his family, he leaves and does not return. Soon after this, Radha's mother-in-law dies. Radha continues to work in the fields with her children and gives birth again. Sukhilala offers to help alleviate her poverty in return for Radha marrying him, but she refuses to sell herself. A storm sweeps through the village that destroys the harvest and kills Radha's youngest child, and the villagers start to migrate but decide to stay and rebuild because of Radha's urging. The film then skips forward several years to when Radha's two surviving children, Birju (Sunil Dutt) and Ramu (Rajendra Kumar), are young men. Birju, embittered by the exactions of Sukhilala since he was a child, takes out his frustrations by pestering the village girls, especially Sukhilala's daughter. Ramu, by contrast, has a calmer temper and is married soon after. He becomes a father ,but his wife is soon absorbed into the cycle of poverty. Birju's anger finally becomes dangerous and, after being provoked, attacks Sukhilala and his daughter and violently lashes out at his family. He is chased out of the village and becomes a bandit. On the day of the wedding of Sukhilala's daughter, Birju returns to exact vengeance. He kills Sukhilala and takes his daughter--but Radha, who had promised that Birju would not do harm, shoots Birju, who dies in her arms. The film ends with her opening the canal and reddish water flowing into the fields.
Mother India Movie Interesting Facts
- Was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign-Language Film category. It was India's first Oscar nomination.
- Sunil Dutt famously saved Nargis during the fire sequence. Nargis was shown trapped inside a raging fire while Sunil Dutt jumps in and saves her. But the blaze roared out of control leaving Nargis stranded. Sunil Dutt quickly grabbed a blanket and plunged inside and, wrapping the blanket around themselves, the twosome ran out. It meant several, painful burns for Sunil but it also resulted in Nargis falling in love with him. They were married within a year.
- Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.
- The opening sequence showed a Hammer and Sickle symbol reflecting the producers company. However, since this movie was nominated for the Oscars during the cold war anti-communist period, the sequence had to be edited out.
- Remake of Aurat (1940).
- It was the first submission by India for the Academy Awards in 1958 for Best Film in Foreign Language category. It lost by just one vote.
- The film was shot in Mehboob Studios and some Villages of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.
- This was the most expensive film made in India at that time.
- The Title of the film "Mother India" was inspired by Katherine Mayo's book, in which she attacked Indian culture, religions, and society. The book also highlighted the exploitation faced by women in India. Mehboob Khan instead used this title to show the power of a woman in India.
- Mehboob Khan was inspired by the books The Good Earth(1931) and The Mother (1934) written by American Author Perl S. Buck.
- A special screening of the film was held for the President and Prime Minister of India at that time.
- Initially Mehboob Khan wanted Dilip Kumar to play the role of one of the two sons of Radha (Nargis) in the movie. However, the actor refused as he felt that it would be an incongruous casting after all the romancing she and he had done in earlier films, such as Mela (1948) and Babul (1950).
- After the enormous success of this film, Mehboob Khan made "Son of India" which also starred the child actor Sajid Khan who had played the young Birju in this film. However, the film ended up being a box office bomb.
- Sajid Khan, the child actor who played the young Birju, was a poor child from the slums of Bombay (now Mumbai). Mehboob Khan cast him after he saw the child standing in a crowd with a confident and somewhat arrogant attitude, hands on his hips.
- Originally, Sabu, one of the most famous Hollywood stars of Indian origin, was to play the role that Sunil Dutt got eventually.
- This movie is filmaker Mehboob Khan's last most successful film.
- Actor Kanhaiyalal played the role of Sukhilal for the second time as he did the same in Aurat in 1940.
- Nargis won the "Filmfare Award" in the Best Actress category while Mehboob Khan won in the Best DIrector category.
- Kumar Gaurav was born during the making of the film Mother India. It was Nargis who was first to visit mother and child in the hospital.
- Kala Phool released a International album titled " Mother India - 21 st Century Remix". It contained several instrumental remixes of all the tracks of Mother India.
