Click to play videoMumbai: An all time classics of Hindi cinema, the Nargis and Sunil Dutt starrer Mother India turns 50 this year.
“Perhaps I for the first time came face to face, through cinema of course, what our villages are all about, what rural India is all about, what happens there and how complex is the society there, their problems and their issues. How beautifully it was portrayed,” says Amitabh Bachchan about the film.
Directed by Mehboob Khan, the film, which also stars Rajendra Kumar, was released in 1957 and marks its golden jubilee this year.
Interestingly, this cult hit is a re-make of Khan's 1940 drama Aurat. Yet even after 50 years, it continues to be a source of inspiration to many filmmakers.
A progressive story of its times, where a mother kills her own son in pursuit of justice.
“I am always learning from Mother India, in terms of how to write scenes, how to make actors act, and how to even shoot. The shots are really beautiful. There are some amazing close-ups and then there are some really wide landscape shots. Mehboob Khan is just an amazing director,” says filmmaker, Tanuja Chandra.
The film was a box office blockbuster as well. It grossed over Rs 40 million – much more than other big releases of that decade like Naya Daur, Shri 420, Aan and Awara. It was also the first Indian film, which got an Oscar nomination in the best foreign language films category in 1958.
And the angry young man Bachchan believes that Mother India gave birth to the original angry young man much before people coined the term for him.
“In many respects, its the birth of the angry young man in Duttsaab's role in Birju. There were several others also before, But I doubt if any character stood out strongly as in the realm of the angry young man as it did in Birju and Duttsaab,” says Amitabh.
After filming of Mother India, its lead stars Nargis and Sunil Dutt got married. It is said that during one of the scenes, Dutt saved Nargis from a fire and in true filmi style the duo fell for each other.
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