Mother India

Mother India
Film poster
Directed by	Mehboob Khan
Produced by	Mehboob Khan
Written by	Mehboob Khan Wajahat Mirza S. Ali Raza
Starring	Nargis Sunil Dutt Rajendra Kumar Raaj Kumar
Music by	Naushad
Cinematography	Faredoon A. Irani
Edited by	Shamsudin Kadri
Production company	Mehboob Productions
Release date	25 October 1957 (1957-10-25) (India)
Running time	172 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Box office	est.₹40 million

External image

Images of Nargis in Mother India

Mother India is a 1957 Indian Hindi-language epic drama film, directed by Mehboob Khan and starring Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar, and Raaj Kumar. A remake of Khan's earlier film Aurat (1940), it is the story of a poverty-stricken village woman named Radha (Nargis) who, in the absence of her husband, struggles to raise her sons and survive against a cunning money-lender amidst many troubles. Despite her hardship, she sets a goddess-like moral example of an ideal Indian woman.

The title of the film was chosen to counter American author Katherine Mayo's 1927 polemical book Mother India, which vilified Indian culture. Allusions to Hindu mythology are abundant in the film, and its lead character has been seen as a metonymic representation of a Hindu woman who reflects high moral values and the concept of what it means to be a mother to society through self-sacrifice. Mother India metaphorically represents India as a nation in the aftermath of independence, and alludes to a strong sense of nationalism and nation-building. While some authors treat Radha as the symbol of women empowerment, others see her cast in female stereotypes. The Oedipal elements between Radha and her son Birju have also been discussed by authors. The film was shot in Mumbai's Mehboob Studios and in the villages of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh states. The music by Naushad introduced Western classical music and Hollywood-style orchestra to Hindi cinema.