Mother India

Mother India
Film poster
Directed by	Mehboob Khan
Written by	Wajahat Mirza S. Ali Raza
Story by	Babubhai A. Mehta
Based on	Aurat by Mehboob Khan
Produced by	Mehboob Khan
Starring	Nargis Sunil Dutt Rajendra Kumar Raaj Kumar
Cinematography	Faredoon A. Irani
Edited by	Shamsudin Kadri
Music by	Naushad
Production company	Mehboob Productions
Distributed by	Mehboob Productions
Release date	25 October 1957 (1957-10-25) (India)
Running time	172 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindustani[1]
Budget	est. ₹6 million[2]
Box office	est. ₹80 million (India)[3]

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.

The title of the film was chosen to counter American author Katherine Mayo's 1927 polemical book Mother India, which vilified Indian culture. Mother India metaphorically represents India as a nation in the aftermath of its independence in 1947, and alludes to a strong sense of Indian nationalism and nation-building. Allusions to Hindu mythology are abundant in the film, and its lead character has been seen as a metonymic representation of an Indian woman who reflects high moral values and the concept of what it means to be a mother to society through self-sacrifice. While some authors treat Radha as the symbol of women's empowerment, others see her cast in female stereotypes. The film was shot in Mumbai's Mehboob Studios and in the villages of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh. The music by Naushad introduced global music, including Western classical music and orchestra, to Hindi cinema.

The film was one of the most expensive Indian productions and earned the highest revenue for any Indian film at that time. Adjusted for inflation, Mother India still ranks among the all-time Indian box office hits. It was released in India amid fanfare in October 1957 and had several high-profile screenings, including one at the capital, New Delhi, attended by the country's president and prime minister. Mother India became a definitive cultural classic and is regarded as one of the best films in Indian cinema as well as being one of three Hindi-language films to be included on the list of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. The film won the All India Certificate of Merit for Best Feature Film, the Filmfare Best Film Award for 1957, and Nargis and Khan won the Best Actress and Best Director awards respectively. It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, becoming the first Indian film to be ever nominated.