First, Happy Mother's Day To All Women (Mothers & To-be Mothers) Here & Everywhere!
Mother''s Day Review: 'Mother India': A Glorious Tribute of Epic-Proportion to The Greatness of All Mothers!
Introduction:
Universally, 'The Mother Figure' is held in high esteem & given the Topmost Honor & Pride of place of all relations. Why is it so?What does the all-powerful Cinema medium say about it? Shall we examine it thro' Mehboob Khan's All-Time Great 'Mother-India'?
I. Why have I chosen 'Mother India' of all the movies?
Every Mother is basically & essentially a woman first. Of all the movies I've seen, it is only 'Mother India' that reflects Indian Mother completely. We've seen stereo-typed women as flat characters / 'glamor figures' / sari-clad Sita or Savitri or Bharat Mata / a vamp. The only movie that has depicted the Indian Woman completely with her Strength of Character, Dignity & Womanly Pride and Emotions is Mehboob Khan's Mother India'. It is really a great tribute to Indian women, in general & all MOTHERS, in particular.
II. What 'Mother India' is All About? The Plight of Farmers in Rural India and the Greatness of Mother
a) 'Mother India'depicts life in rural Independent India in the 40s & 50s and 'how the human spirit holds life together despite the struggles of a woman Radha (Nargis)' against acute poverty, natural calamities & disasters, accidents resulting in loss of limbs, two deaths in the family and an unscrupulous 'Shylock-type' usurious money-lending-leech, Cartoonish Sukhilala (kanhaiyalal).
III. The Story in Brief:
a) The film opens with the finishing of a water canal to the village in the present time. Radha (Nargis), as 'The Mother of the Village' is asked to declare open the canal. Her mind goes back in time and she relives her past life from the time she was newly married.
b) The Grim First Half : Radha's mother-in-law raises a loan of Rs.500 from the moneylender for the wedding of her son Shamu ((Raj Kumar) with Radha. With 'this event starts the story of Radha's poverty and hardship. By dint of hard-work & missionary zeal, they try to bring more of their land into cultivation to pay off their debt & chase away their hunger & poverty, In that attempt, Shamu's arms are crushed by a big rock and he becomes unfit for work. Realizing that he is of no use to his family & would only be a burden to others, he leaves home not to return. Nargis stars as the suffering woman Radha going through tragedy after tragedy, surviving it all with towering courage & fortitude of mind.
c) The Action-Emotion-packed Second Half:
i) Radha continues to work in the fields with her two children. To make matters worse, Sukhilal lusts after her but she staunchly stands like a rock in protecting her WOMANLY pride, honor & dignity not willing to barter them away for monetary gains or a hassle-free life in shame. A storm sweeps through the village destroying the harvest and her youngest child gets killed.
ii) The story starts to focus in on the bad-boy, problem-son Birju. His mother loves him dearly and spoils him unknowingly, and he simply grows into an evil. Her two sons, docile Ramu (played by Rajendra Kumar) and buoyant Birju ( superbly portrayed by Sunil Dutt) grow into adults. Out of Frustration and disgust, Birju becomes a devil-incarnate, his only saving grace being his boundless love for his mother & his readiness to settle scores, come what may, with the moneylender who has made his mother's life a hell. He is flamboyant. He gets into trouble and is Chased out of the village. He becomes a dacoit. His anger finally becomes dangerous. He kills Sukhilala and takes away his daughter. Still, Mother Radha is blind to realities & is hoping against hope that her love will make Birju mend his ways and she is sure that he will not harm anyone.
IV: What an Out-of-The-World Climax! How Impressive & Tearfully Touching!
a) In the film, the most 'electrifying moment' comes at the end.
Birju is on a horseback holding the moneylender's daughter in one arm & the reins of the mare in the other and is ready to kidnap her before his mother's very eyes. Now Mother Radha is at cross-roads. 'She has to both protect her son as A Mother and stand up for what is right as a Righteous Woman'. Birju is sure of his mother's love for him and says, 'You can't kill me. You are my mother!'
The mother whose entire life was for protecting her honor, dignity & pride as a WOMAN, almost becomes a larger than life person.She as a 'Woman'gets the better of she as the 'Mother'. She declares that she is a woman first and then shoots dead her own son. The son falls in her arms. The pain of a mother who has killed her own son is depicted in the song immediately after the shooting- scene in the movie. We see the mother singing-
'o mere laal aaja , tujhko gale laga loon seene mein tujhko chuppa loon. 'Shahil Badayuni at his best!
The film ends with Radha as the Mother of the village declaring open the canal and reddish water like blood gushing out and flowing into the fields.' to make the barren lands fertile. Agri-reform!
V. Conclusion:
a)Merits of the Movie:
i) A great film with a great message. Nargis as Radha is 'both the body and soul' of the picture.It has 'a rich story, excellent acting and great songs and is technically superb'.
ii) 'Music-e-Azam Naushad's music' is another delightful appeal of the film The lyrics by Shakeel Badayuni, the melodies and filming of the song-sequences are simply wonderful.
iii) Defects: There are many. The prime one is its length (3 hour run). It poses 'a viewing challenge'. A good editing is all that is needed.
VI. The Message: A woman's dignity and honor is invaluable and should be protected at any cost. We get to know that a Mother is none but an Epitome of boundless love & concern, and selfless ready love and supreme sacrifice!
When I think of Movie-Mothers, Mother Radha is the first & topmost to come to my mind. No movie-lover can ever miss out on this great picture.
VI. TRIVIA: During the Fire Sequence, Sunil Dutt ( f/o Sanjay Dutt) found Nargis trapped in. Sunil jumped in & saved her life earning painful burns. Later, the filmy Mother & Son got married to each other which some (not me) considered scandalous!
VII. Dear friends:
I write Reviews with you all in mind.
Thanks for your time & interest in the topic.
I look forward to your feedback.
Over to you,
