Any foreign film, in this case Indian, that features in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, is obviously one I will see. Basically 'mother' of the village Radha (Nargis) opens the canal, and goes into a flashback to the past where she was newly married to husband Shamu (Raaj Kumar), with the wedding paid for by her mother in law, with money lent by Sukhilala (Kanhaiyalal). This money lending begins a spiral of poverty and tragedy, including forced payment, and Shamu having his arms crushed by a boulder, forcing him to leave the village and never return. After this, Radha's mother in law dies, while she continues to work in the fields, and gives birth to another child, and she refuses more help from Sukhilala. A storm goes through the village, killing Radha's youngest child, and destroying most of the villagers homes, but everyone stays to rebuild. It then moves to a few years later, where Radha's two surviving children, Birju (Sunil Dutt) and Ramu (Rajendra Kumar) have grown up to be young men. Ramu is fine, but Birju is a bad tempered son taking all his frustrations on village girls, especially Sukhilala's daughter. Ramu has a much softer temper, and manages to get married and become a father, but also manages to get his family in the cycle of poverty. Birju however gets to the point where his temper is becoming dangerous, attacking Sukhilala, his daughter and other family members, and he wants revenge when it is the daughter's wedding day. Radha promises Birju would never come to harm, despite knowing how dangerous he has become, but after he kills Sukhilala and the daughter, she has no choice but to shoot him. This is where the film returns to the present day, seeing Radha see the newly opened canal river run red like blood. Also starring Kumkum as Champa. The performances by Nargis as the devoted mother and Dutt as the violent son are very well done, there may not be much realism in the situations portrayed, but with some likable songs and the spectacle, this is a worthwhile drama. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Very good!
Review of Mother India
