Wikipedia:Today's featured article/May 3, 2013

Mother India is a 1957 Hindi epic melodrama film, directed by Mehboob Khan and starring Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar, and Raaj Kumar. A remake of Khan's 1940 film Aurat, it is the story of a poverty-stricken village woman named Radha (Nargis) who struggles to raise her sons amidst many troubles. Despite her hardship, she sets a goddess-like moral example of an ideal Hindu Indian woman. In the end, she kills her criminal son for the greater good. Mother India metaphorically represents India as a nation in the aftermath of independence, and alludes to a strong sense of nationalism and nation-building. While some authors treat Radha as the symbol of women empowerment, others see her cast in female stereotypes. The film was the most expensive Hindi cinema production and earned the highest revenue for any Hindi film at that time. Mother India became a definitive cultural classic and is regarded as one of the best Indian films. It was India's first submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1958, where it made the shortlist. The film won the Filmfare Best Film Award for 1957, and Nargis and Khan won the Best Actress and Best Director awards respectively. (Full article...)

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