Mother India

Mother India is a famous Bollywood movie which was released in the year 1957. Mehboob Khan directed the film. And this film received such a good response both from both the audiences and the film critics that the film was nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category for Academy Awards in 1957. It is interesting to note that Mother India is actually a remake of Mehboob Khan's "Aurat" which was released in 1940. But the remake version turned out to be a more well made film than the original one.

Mother India stands out among the Bollywood social movies. The film mirrors the hard life of the village people in India and how these simple people are exploited by few cunning men. The film focuses on the advantages of the centralization of power. The moneylenders enjoy wonderful social position. They are respected but they are the cause of the miseries of the common people. Once a villager takes a loan from the moneylender, he or she would never be able to pay back the loan because the loan is granted at high interest rate. Moreover, it was very easy for the moneylenders to fool the illiterate simple minded villagers.

The role of "Radha" was played by Nargis and she is the mother of the village and she is trying her best to open the water canal of that village. The story revolves about the family of Radha which also includes her two sons. Poverty in rural India is like a vicious cycle and it is really a tough job to come out of it. Mother India was produced to highlight this social theme.

The songs of Mother India were also quite popular. Naushad should be credited for the wonderful music of the film. Cinematography was done by Faredoon A. Irani and the film was edited by Shamsudin Kadri. Mother India is considered to be a major landmark in the history of Indian cinema primarily because, it was the first Indian movie that got international appreciation and even nomination for an Academy Award. The story of Radha, the rural Indian woman and her struggle, love, courage and disappointments have been portrayed wonderfully in the film. Mother India was a big commercial hit and it is a fine blend of social ideas with catchy music. Nargis evolved into a great performer after the movie. Mother India is counted among the top 25 Indian movies.