Mother India

Mother India poster for sale.

Featured here is an actual surviving original vintage Bollywood poster of the 1957 epic Hindi film produced and directed by Mehboob Khan that starred Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar and Raaj Kumar in key roles.

Released under the Mehboob Productions banner, Mother India (1957) also starred Kanhaiyalal, Jilloo and Kumkum in supporting roles. The film was a remake of Mehboob Khan’s 1940 film Aurat, which itself was inspired by the American novel, The Mother (1934), written by Pearl S. Buck.

Considered unanimously as the ultimate tribute to Indian womanhood, Mother India (1957) holds the coveted distinction of being India’s first film to be nominated for the Oscars in the Best Foreign Film Category.

One of the most expensive films ever made in Indian cinema, Mother India (1957) is counted as one of Bollywood’s all-time biggest box office hits and is included in the prestigious list of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.

The third longest running film in Indian cinema, Mother India (1957) told the story of a peasant woman called Radha (Nargis) who’s married life descends into abject poverty after her husband Shamu (Raaj Kumar) commits suicide. Radha now has to take care of her young children and also pay off a debt to the evil moneylender Lala (Kanhaiyalal), who wants to take advantage of her plight and exploit her sexually. She defies all odds and perseveres through one adversity after another to raise her children Birju (Sunil Dutt) and Ramu (Rajendra Kumar) to adulthood. However, her motherhood stands challenged when one of her sons, Birju takes to crime.

In 1958, the film was dubbed in French and released in Paris as “Les bracelets d’or” (The Gold Bracelets). At the Filmfare Awards in 1957, Mother India bagged Best Film, while Nargis won Best Actress for her stellar performance.

Printed and circulated during the screening of the film in theaters (somewhere in the 1970s), this vintage Mother India poster was designed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.

Originally designed in hand painted oil on canvas format by a Bombay based art studio called Seth Studio, this vintage Bollywood poster displays striking artwork.

This Mother India poster features a large illustration of Nargis in her character of Radha, pulling a plough through a field (after her ox is taken away by the moneylender). Considered one of the most iconic images in Indian cinema, the scene is taken from the super hit song in the film, “Duniya Men Hum Aaye Hain Toh Jeena Hi Padega.”

The actress is depicted covered in sweat and grime, toiling in the fields. Such a non-glamorous and masculine depiction of a woman on a Bollywood poster was highly unconventional for it’s time. The background shows an exodus of an entire village that has been devastated by a flood. It is taken from the hit song, “O Janewalo Jao Na Ghar Apna Chhod Ke.”

Thanks to its dramatic hand painted artwork, this Mother India poster stands out as the most iconic of all hand painted old Bollywood movie posters ever designed in Indian cinema.

The soundtrack album of Mother India (1957) was composed by one of the greatest music composers in Indian cinema, Naushad. It is fondly remembered for the unforgettable classic song, “Duniya Men Hum Aaye Hain Toh Jeena Hi Padega” sung by sisters Lata Mangeshkar, Meena Mangeshkar and Usha Mangeshkar.