Mehboob Khan’s Oscar nominated Mother India was much more than a successful films it was a Nehruvian tale of a young nation and its beliefs. For Khan through his retelling of a previous film titled Aurat, wanted to showcase the Indian belief in the nobility of womanhood and through it narrate a heartwarming tale of love and sacrifice. 
Radha (Nargis) an old woman narrates her stor of pain and suffering. Her blissful married life is short and tragic since the family has to work extremely hard to pay off the moneylender Sukhilala (Kanhaiyalal).
Her hardworking husband (Raj Kumar) loses both his arms in an accident and unable to bear the thought of being a burden to the already suffering family, abandons them. There on its all about Radha’s struggle to raise her children while fending off financial as well as sexual pressures from Sukhilala. Out of the three sons one dies in a flood, the second, Ramu (Rajendra Kumar) grows to be a dutiful son while the third Birju (Sunil Dutt) becomes a wayward rebel. Finally to the dignity of the village the virtuous Radha puts an end to Birju’s rebellious activities by shooting him down.
This effective tale upholds Indian values of honesty and uprightness. But most importantly it is seen as a celebration of Indian Womanhood, attributing almost impossible standards to the concept of the “Ideal Woman”. This poignant saga of the sufferings of an Indian peasant woman obviously has an enduring appeal, being typical of the Indian situation.
So effective was its success that the film is taken as a reference point in Hindi filmmaking and is considered to be the Indian Gone With the Wind. It was also short listed in the Best Foreign Film Category in the Oscars making it the first Indian film to attain such a distinction.
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