Mother India as an Archetypal Epic

            Mehboob Khan’s 1957 Mother India is an iconic Hindi film spanning the hardship-wrought life of Radha, a poor woman living in the final years of British colonialism and early years of Indian independence. Radha’s story is a dramatic one, and is in turn presented very dramatically in a style that shares much with that of traditional “epics.” Originally a term reserved for poetry, the idea of the epic has grown to include any type of narrative that is characterized by its melodrama, scope, symbolism, and many common patterns shared by most examples. I would like to provide analysis on how some of these tropes are fulfilled in Mother India.

            Most important to any epic is the “epic hero” – The Odyssey has Odysseus, Star Wars has Luke Skywalker, and Mother India has Radha. Often, these heroes are somehow symbolic of the culture by which the epic is created, exemplifying its values and eventually benefitting from adhering to those values. This is basically the main idea in the case of Mother India – the film is built upon Radha being a symbol of India, a concept that is reinforced again and again. Even the title is a reference to Radha’s role as a symbolic epic hero. What, then, do her values say about her culture? Throughout the film, despite undergoing incredible misfortune and suffering, Radha never forsakes her family, her village, and her land. In making analogies between Radha as a person and 1950’s India, it’s easy to draw connections between Radha’s devotion to her home and the kind of nationalism and pride that would be encouraged in a long-oppressed, newly, independent country. Radha’s pride in her community runs so deeply that she is even driven to kill her son for the sake of that community’s honor. This idea of holding concern for the entire community above concern for one’s own family can be applied to the whole of India as well, at last trying to become a united country rather than historically divided regions. Mehboob was stating that it was time to stop thinking of India as a collection of culturally-separate “families,” but as a culturally-bound “village.” Even the source of much of Radha’s strife, Sukhilala the abusive money-lender, can be seen as the fiscally-manipulative British Empire, further emphasizing the connection between Radha and India.

            Aside from being symbolic of her culture’s values however, Radha’s life also follows the archetypal path of an epic hero in terms of events. One key aspect of the beginning to most epic heroes’ stories is the hero being “cut loose” somehow, usually through the death of parents or loss of other ties that would prevent the hero from fulfilling their destiny. In the case of Radha, this event is losing her husband, Shamu, when he abandons her and their sons. Largely submissive to Shamu while he was there, Radha is forced to step up as leader of the family when he is injured. Her sons’ complete dependence on her is cemented when Shamu eventually just leaves, and Radha’s independence is part of what allows her to become a respected leader in the community. Another key element of epic heroes’ journeys is an abundance of setbacks and obstacles endured by the hero once this freedom is gained – very obviously applicable to Radha.

When Radha goes to Sukhilala after the flood with the intention of begging for money, she fulfills another important archetypal step in the epic hero’s path – reaching a low point at which it appears the hero is close to failure. More importantly, these moments represent a near-failure of the culture and the values that the hero represents. In fact, a significant portion of the drama that epics like Mother India create comes from the inherent understanding that what is happening to the hero is happening to that entire hero’s culture. Submitting to the evil, greedy demands of Sukhilala would be to sacrifice the integrity and pride of not only one woman, but of India as a whole. Fortunately, epic heroes always rise up from these low points, reaching the final stage of restitution. It is here that the hero is recognized for his or her sacrifices and earns the respect of those for whom he or she fought. Mother India both begins and ends with this phase, showing an elderly Radha as the honored mother of her village.