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."All Hindi films come from Mother India," said Javed Akhtar, the Hindi cinema poet, lyricist and scriptwriter. And of that I have no doubt. It does seem to be a very strong touchstone of Indian cinema, and one of the earliest films from India to get an international audience fawning.But this is, perhaps paradoxically, the reason I do not care for the film. It is nothing that the Indian cinema has done ,but for some reason I just never care for Indian films, this one included. The grand, over-the-top nature of them, the singing where singing should not be by people who should not singing... the trend has gotten worse today, but I can see the germ here.

Mother India----Definitely the greatest film ever made in Bollywood I watched it few months back only.And in many many scenes it almost brought tears in my eyes.The struggle for survival,the fight against injustice and living with moral can melt any1's heart who understands the true meaning of cinema.A helpless mother fighting for survival alongwith her small children's can run any1 in a melange of emotions bringing the worst image of poverty and illiteracyMother India was such a flick which have the ability to put many of the greatest cinema from Hollywood into shame.It shows how realistic and impactfull a bollywood cinema can be.Its sad that it only got nominated for Oscar in best foreign language category but was not able to win But i can say with utmost surity if Hollywood's biggest Blockbuster ever 'Gone With The Wind' can win 9 Oscars...then Mother India if made in Hollywood have won at least 3-4 Oscars.....Mother India seems to be forgotten by the people.They took Sholay or DDLJ name but not this timeless and haunting ground to earth classic most probably cause it doesn't feature Amitabh Bachchan or SRKWith one of the most path breaking climax for a bollywood flick Mother India for a Hollywood fan like me was a dream coming true I can take its name alongside Hollywood classics like 'Gone With The Wind',Schindler's List etcOne such flick which makes me proud that ever i got a chance to show how great a bollywood is then without a blink of my eye i will took Mother India.DDLJ or Sholay are entertainers but they are not totally realistic.Mother India's each and every frame....each and every shot was realistic and believableMother India is a triumph of bollywood in film making and direction Not to forget the unforgettable performances by Nargis and Sunil DuttIt makes me feel proud for bollywood.I can held my head high in any film festival of the world if i am showcasing Mother IndiaOnly special effects and different stories cant help to move forward.Long live bollywood.We have the potential of world class cinema.We need directors like 'Mehboob Khan'And its an honour,respect and matter of pride that bollywood made Mother IndiaMother India is Mother of all bollywood flicks till date10/10

Mehboob Khan's Mother India reserves a special place among all time great and memorable Mega Hit films. Nargis has consummately performed a versatile role of a mature Indian mother who would not allow her own son to rob the honor of their village at any cost. The climactic last scene of the epic, where Radha shoots her son in the back, while Birju was all set to kidnap the cruel money lender's daughter is a tragedy sequence that can be commensurately compared with the ending of another emotionally charged film - Shakti, where Dilip Kumar shoots in the back of his son "Amitabh".However, Birju's angry performance in this movie steals the show at many a times; for instance, when he argues with his mother and brother about the greedy Bania moneylender who had fleeced their family from all earthly possessions through the odiously manipulative annual interest rate charged by him, although they have toiled day and night to return the debt.It is a great melodramatic picture, containing magnificent performance by Nargis and Sunil Dutt, while manifesting the impoverished economic conditions and abysmal living standards of a typical Indian rural family who were driven in utter disgust, shame and tragedy due to the volatile temper of one of their family members. However, seething poverty was not the sole reason which perturbed Birju (Sunil Dutt) to become an outlaw and murder Sukhi Lala (the rapacious money lender), but the very ominous and cruel person hidden in the money lender, who, in a backward rural social setup took full benefit/advantage of the poor, illiterate and weak elements of village social order.Besides, the strong and moving story line, Faredoon has captured mesmerizing stills providing an excellent background setting of the full horizon picture down to the ground level with spreading murky clouds at dusk against the backdrop of silhouetted actors.It is definitely a must see movie having marvelous and stupendous cinematography, as well.

Sorry you got a bit tired of it, Greg. Can well understand how.However, I must say that the second half of the movie is much better than the first, where the unrelenting grimness is comically unsubtle.The fact that this movie accurately reflects the lives of millions of South Asians in the last century or so is the only thing that stops it working as comedy. I still laughed out loud when the mother-in-law died.But hey. Watch it at home with some friends, get up and make some tea now and then. It does feel a bit like the middle hour of Gone With The Wind. But there is far more of everything there is to like about it in the second half; and less to none of all there is to dislike.It is a far more rewarding experience than Gangs of New York, for instance.