Mother India

Critics Consensus

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92%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 12

86%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 3,105

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Movie Info

The wedding of Radha (Nargis) and Shamu (Rajendra Kumar) is at hand, but the loan they take out to pay for the ceremony ends up leading to their ruin. Unable to pay the mounting interest rates, the couple is forced to give up three quarters of their crop to the moneylenders. Shamu works the fields in an attempt to alleviate their poverty, but a loose boulder crushes his arm, rendering him incapable of work and humiliated at his sudden inability to provide for his family.
  • Genre:
    musical, drama
  • Original Language:
    Hindi
  • Director:
    Mehboob Khan
  • Producer:
    Mehboob Khan
  • Release Date (Streaming):
  • Runtime:

Cast & Crew

Nargis
Radha
Sunil Dutt
Birju
Rajendra Kumar
Ramu
Mukri
Shambu
Raaj Kumar
Shamu, Radha's husband
Kanhaiyalal Chaturvedi
Sukhilala Lala, a cunning money-lender
Jilloo Maa
Sundar-Chachi, the mother-in-law of Radha
Mehboob Khan
Director
Mehboob Khan
Producer
Mehboob Khan
Writer
Wajahat Mirza
Writer
S. Ali Raza
Writer
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Critic Reviews for Mother India

All Critics (12) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (11) | Rotten (1)

  • Put it this way, it's the birth of the Bollywood blockbuster. It should be on every cineaste's must-see list.

    March 18, 2013 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review…

    David Parkinson

    Empire Magazine

  • As the mother, Nargis is as resolute as a force of nature, and Mehboob Khan creates tableaux of the family that evoke its fragile unity.

    March 18, 2013 | Full Review…

    Fred Camper

    Chicago Reader

  • True, there are dull spots and the overripe supporting cast pale beside Nargis' 'force of nature' central performance, but overall it's a wallowy treat.

    February 9, 2006 | Full Review…

    Trevor Johnston

    Time Out

  • Often said to have helped set the pattern for the nearly 50 years of Indian film that has followed it.

    August 22, 2002

    Dave Kehr

    New York Times

  • An outrageous masala of apparently discordant elements.

    August 20, 2002

    J. Hoberman

    Village Voice

  • This looks a bit creaky now, but it's a big, entertaining work, with echoes of The Good Earth and Gone With the Wind.

    August 15, 2002 | Full Review…

    Peter Bradshaw

    Guardian
View All Critic Reviews (12)

Audience Reviews for Mother India

  • Apr 22, 2010
    This is good.. really good.
    Cita W Super Reviewer
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Mother India Quotes

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