Mother India is a 1957 Indian epic drama film, directed by Mehboob Khan and starring Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar and Raaj Kumar. A remake of Khan's earlier film Aurat (1940), it is the story of a poverty-stricken village woman named Radha (Nargis), who in the absence of her husband, struggles to raise her sons and survive against a cunning money-lender amidst many troubles.
Film poster
Nargis in Mother India, published in Filmindia Magazine (March 1956).
The 1940 film Aurat (Woman) was remade as Mother India. Khan's future wife Sardar Akhtar played Radha in Aurat.
Mehboob Studios in Mumbai (in 2006), where most of the indoor shots of the film were taken.
Mehboob Khan was a pioneer producer-director of Indian cinema, best known for directing the social epic Mother India (1957), which won the Filmfare Awards for Best Film and Best Director, two National Film Awards, and was a nominee for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He set up his production company – Mehboob Productions, and later a film studio – Mehboob Studios in Bandra, Mumbai in 1954. He also created the dacoit film genre with Aurat (1940) and Mother India, and is also known for other blockbusters including the romantic drama Andaz (1949), the swashbuckling musical Aan (1951), and the melodrama Amar (1954).
Mehboob Khan in early 1940s
Mehboob Studios courtyard set up by Khan in 1954, Bandra (W), Mumbai
Stamp issued by Government of India in his centenary year