Cinema is a critically important sort of art that affects millions of people around the globe and shows a particular idea. At the same time, like any other act of creation, it is impacted by the culture as it serves as its embodiment, representing unique phenomena, customers, traditions, and events meaningful for a nation. The movie Mother India can be considered the film that represents the whole country in a particular period of its evolution, which makes it an essential piece of art that embodies problems, hopes, and views of different groups of people. That is why Mother India is not just a story about a family; however, it is the representation of the whole country.
The whole plot revolves around a common Indian woman Radha who has no money and has to work hard to earn her living and ensure that her children will survive. Deceived by a moneylender, she has to pay a quarter of her crops (Mother India). Moreover, her husband leaves her, and she remains alone with her children. However, the given tragic story severs as the background to demonstrate more important ideas and problems that affected the country at that period of time.
Radha is not just a tragic hero who has to struggle with difficulties and overcome them. However, she can also be taken as a symbolic representation of a Hindu woman with strong moral values, hardworking nature, and readiness for self-sacrifice. She does not have any chance for the improvement of her living conditions; however, she continues to work as it is the only way to survive in a world that is hostile to her. From another hand, Radha can also be viewed as India, the country that has just acquired independence and has to struggle to survive. It is deceived by authorities and suffers from financial difficulties, lack of understanding of how to move and evolve, but keeps moving forward and striving to ensure that its children will survive. From this perspective, Radha also represents a sense of nationalism and nation-building.
The majority of scenes in the movie are set in ways that increase the significance of the main message. For instance, the first seconds of the film depicts an older woman holding a piece of earth in her hands (Mother India). It conveys a symbolic meaning of Indian people bonded to their land and mourning about its destiny. Another distinct feature of the movie is the use of close-ups to show tired faces and suffering as the central feature of people living at that time. The use of these devices contributes to the creation of a specific visual image of the movie that emphasizes its meaning.
The importance of the movie for the nation and its significant contribution to the development of culture can also be explained by the fact that it represents problems that have always been topical for India. Poverty, hard job, poor living conditions, and social stereotypes affect the main characters and complicate their lives. Mother India is an epic melodrama, or according to Rajadhyaksha, a unique “mode of cultural production/assimilation” (59). It means that the movie’s structure and main motifs are preconditioned by the peculiarities of the nation, and, at the same time, its significance is also explained by these very peculiarities.
Altogether, the movie Mother India can be considered a symbolic representation of problems a young independent state faces at its first steps. It contains multiple symbols and allusions that help viewers to understand hidden messages and sympathize with the main characters. For instance, Rajadhyaksha states that Radha’s struggle against a money-lender is the embodiment of capitalism and its negative impact on the whole nation (63). The film makes individuals think about the hard life of people living in the country and about the state in general because the main characters are the archetypical figures that have qualities peculiar to the whole nation and face the same problems. From this perspective, Mother India is a unique film that familiarizes viewers with the culture and issues of Indian people.
Works Cited
Mother India. Directed by Mehboob Khan, performance by Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Mehboob Productions, 1957.
Rajadhyaksha, Ashish. “The Epic Melodrama: Themes of Nationality in Indian Cinema.” Journal of Arts & Ideas, no. 25–26, 1993, pp. 55–70.