India was, and is, a largely agrarian country, where crores of people exist on a subsistence level. Not surprisingly, the story of a farming family's battle for the right to live with dignity and honour struck a receptive chord in innumerable hearts.

As Mother India's publicity put it: The grain of rice on your table does not tell the grim tale of the toil that grew it.

We were fascinated by Mehboob Khan's highly dramatic unfolding of this story that counterposed the horrors of hunger and the thirst for rebellion against the Indian preoccupation with the mother figure and the institutionalised laws of conduct and honour that she had come to represent.

Director Mehboob Khan had made the same story in the black and white Aurat (1940) but with Mother India, he embellished his tale with the earthy colours of the hinterland and a batch of attention-grabbing new actors (Raaj Kumar, Rajendra Kumar and, of course, Sunil Dutt as the rebellious son who is shot by the mother for his transgressions).

Mother India made stars of its actors after the film swept all box office collection records till then. The film and its protagonist, as played by Nargis, have become enshrined in the hearts of filmgoers.