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MOTHER
INDIA
Staring:
Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar, Raaj Kumar
and Kanhaiyalal
Director: Mehboob Khan
Producer: Mehboob Khan
Music: Naushad
Running time: 175 minutes
RADIOSARGAM.COM DVD RATING:
*****
MOVIE
STORY:
In a small rural Indian village a congregation
of people is waiting for the inauguration of
a newly built water pump, which is to be done
by Radha (Nargis). The villagers respect Radha
as she has preserved the honour of the village
and the honour of Indian womanhood. Radha, an
elderly person, begins to remember her past…
Married
and living a cheerful life Radha with her husband
(Raaj Kumar) and three small children plough
the fields of the rural India in order to survive.
However due to an accident her husband loses
both his arms, and when he begins to feel useless,
as it smidgen his manhood and what he represents,
he abandons the family never to be seen again.
Radha is left to pay off the debts owed to moneylender
Sukhilala (Kanhaiyalal), she also has to fend
of Sukhilala's sexual pressures and both prove
to be a hard task. On her own she begins to
plough the fields herself, and over the years
people in the village respect her for what she
has done. During a flood storm one of her son
dies, Radha mourns over the lost but for the
sake of the other two sons she carries it like
a stone in her heart and continues to work.
Years
later her sons Ramu (Rajendra Kumar) and Birju
(Sunil Dutt) grow up. But while Ramu is the
darling of Radha, Birju is a rebel, and soon
things go wrong for Birju who becomes a bandit
and only uses violence as a means of resort.
When he learns that a woman he likes is to be
married Birju goes to abduct her. But Radha
stands there with a gun and warns her son not
to do this. Birju carries the woman on his horse
and only then Radha, with heartache, shoots
Birju which proves to be fatal. At the inauguration
of the water pump we see a brittle old woman
called Radha, but deep down we see a strong
independent Indian woman that we all come to
know as Mother India, the physical representation
of the Indian soil…
MOVIE BACKGROUND:
A remake of Mehboob's earlier classic stern
black and white film Aurat (1940), Mother India
revolves around two subjects; womanhood &
patriotism and how the two linked makes this
a breathtaking view as it has nor has ever again
been done so beautifully. Many think being a
patriot is all about fighting a battle at wars,
working for the authorities like the government,
the police force, or even being a journalist.
But living a life in a rural village can just
as be as patriotic. To plough the filed with
your bare hands, too raise your children on
your own, & making sure that others come
first are just some examples the character of
peasant woman Radha, outstandingly played by
Nargis, does in order to survive. She is both
strong, and a tribute to women not just in India
but to the entire in the world.
Performances
in this film stand out with the excellent cast,
and this further enhances not only viewing but
also the screenplay that has imagery reflecting
the themes of the film in a poetic manner. The
film's director understands how to present rural
life on screen, being raised in one himself.
He does this with much detail with the characters,
situations and settings. What makes this a great
film to view is the way he presents his facts.
Not with drama or Hollywood realism but rather
with a more passionate notion, that gives a
sense of being larger then life. Sure at times
the film plays with theatrics and melodrama,
but for good purposes to ensure we understand
exactly what the characters undergo through
their emotions, rather then just guessing.
The
director also uses music and songs to play an
important part in the story telling, and music
director Naushad scores wonders here. The music
is suited to the tone, environment and narrative
of the film. With memorable lyrics and unforgettable
music the soundtrack is certain one of the best
to come out from Indian cinema. The technical
values are superior in this film, and still
stands up to the type of movies being made in
Indian cinema presently. With beautiful cinematography,
fine art direction, admirable use of settings/environments
and bright and bold colours of Geva-color, the
film still remains a reference point to present
directors in India and film students across
the world. Mother India (1957), Sholay (1975),
Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), & Dilwale Dulhania
Le Jayenge (1994) are among the limited few
Hindi films that are used to best describe what
'bollywood' is. Mother India released in 1957,
and became critically acclaimed with everyone
around the world. It is considered to be the
most heard off Indian film around the world,
and was the first Hindi film to be nominated
for an Academy Award for best foreign film 1958.
The film has never lost its momentum, and even
continues to be popular with new-found audiences,
within the youth market.
VIDEO
/ VISUAL:
The film is presented in its original aspect
ratio of 1.33:1, as original shot by the filmmakers
when the film first released. In the 1970's
Mother India was re-released in widescreen during
the zenith of cinemascope in India. But that
version had to crop the top and bottom of the
screen in order to achieve the false 2.35:1
wide aspect ratio. Thankfully DEI have gone
to the original vision of the film so now people
can enjoy everything on screen without worrying
if it is cropped.
Also
many different versions of this film have been
released with cuts to it made by distributors,
but again this DVD version is the longest running
time of the film to have been released on the
home format. Word is that an existing print
contains many more scenes, but this is yet to
be found so it remains a myth.
The
DVD technically presents no encoding problems
like compression artefacts and edge enhancement,
while shimmering and moiré effects makes
only a vague appearance. DEI have done there
job successful into encoding what looks to be
a very difficult film, since it presently their
oldest title. But when it comes to the print
they have used I feel so much more could have
been done.
Naturally,
as with nearly all DEI titles, this is taken
from an interpostive 35mm print and clearly
DEI have done quite a lot of restoration work.
Wear and tear makes only but a slight appearance
and for a title this age the film looks fresh,
and very clean. Only the odd reel changes do
we see white and black blemishes which aren't
as disturbing.
Images
look as very detailed, and not once does it
loses its momentum. The picture information
is very accurate and sharp. A couple of scenes
do look quite fragile, as well as a tad soft.
This is due to extensive damage on the print
and cannot be saved. Yet even with these moments
it the film remains to be the definitive yet
available for home viewers.
But
the buck for praises stops here as I look at
the colour motif of the film. When the film
first released "bold", "vibrant"
and "vivid" colours was describe by
those who saw it at the big screen. Naturally
being a Geva-color film this is expected. However
on viewing this DVD the green field seems pale
and overly brown and yellow hues are noted.
Due to the age and poor keeping of the film
in India the colour has disappeared over the
years.
DEI
while clearing up the film for wear and tear
could have done scene by scene accurate colour
correction work, but this is a very costly and
lengthy process. Still a massive film of this
nature could have undergone some more additional
work to make it even more brand spanking fresh.
But this version is one of the best older Indian
title to have ever come out, and DEI should
be credited on that.
AUDIO
/ SOUNDTRACK:
The Dolby Digital mono track has been preserved
as originally recorded. With some light hissing
and noises heard, due to the age of the 35mm
negative, it remains audible, clear and easy
to understand. At best the track can be described
as being as good as it can get with its limitations.
EXTRA FEATURES:
The menus are thematic, and box design is similar
to the one used for the EROS international version.
But again this film, being a top movie, could
have had better packaging design which would
have made this a special product. Surprisingly
no extra supplements were made for this feature.
I'm sure noted film personalities or others
involved in production would provide interesting
feedback on the film.
English
Subtitles are on dialogues only, which means
the songs, that are a integral part of the story
telling, is missing. DEI have stated that they
will rectify this on a later release.
OVERALL
OPINION:
With what they had to work with DEI provides
another winner in terms of quality, yet so much
more could have been done to make this title
a special one. This DVD is an improvement to
the UK EROS DVD version that has similar picture
quality (as it was done by DEI too), but the
sound on that disc had been encoded into 5.1,
meaning high levels of sound distortion. Thankfully
the sound on this version is presented in its
original format.
DVD
kindly supplied to Radio Sargam by www.indiandvdfilms.com
[Please
note features may vary from country to country]
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