A poverty-stricken woman raises her sons through many trials and tribulations. But no matter the struggles, always sticks to her own moral code.
Acting
Nargis's volcanic final act—still unmatched in Hindi cinema.
Cinematography
Lush Technicolor frames rural poverty like mythic painting.
Direction
Mehboob Khan's control of scale and intimate suffering.
Director
Mehboob Khan
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Nargis and Sunil Dutt fell in love during filming when he saved her from a real fire; they married shortly after.
The title deliberately echoes Katherine Mayo's racist 1927 book 'Mother India' to reclaim and subvert the image of Indian womanhood.
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