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''Mammo'' is a 1994 Indian
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
-language film by
Shyam Benegal Shyam Benegal (14 December 1934 – 23 December 2024) was an Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as the pioneer of parallel cinema, he is widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. H ...
. It stars
Farida Jalal Farida Jalal (born Farida Sami; 18 May 1950) is an Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi films. In a film career spanning almost fifty years, Jalal appeared in over 200 films. Best known for her character-driven roles in independent cin ...
,
Surekha Sikri Surekha Sikri (19 April 1945 16 July 2021) was an Indian actress widely known for her performance in theatre, films and television. She has received several awards, including a Filmfare Award and three National Film Awards. A veteran of Hind ...
, Amit Phalke and
Rajit Kapur Rajit Kapur (born 22 May 1963) is an Indian film and theatre actor and director. He is known for his portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi in the 1996 film, '' The Making of the Mahatma'' for which he won the National Film Award for Best Actor. Other n ...
. The film won the
National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi The National Film Award for Best Hindi Feature Film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India. It is one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with Rajat Kama ...
in 1995. Farida Jalal won
Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Indian cinema.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were introduced by Filmfare magazine of The Times G ...
, while
Surekha Sikri Surekha Sikri (19 April 1945 16 July 2021) was an Indian actress widely known for her performance in theatre, films and television. She has received several awards, including a Filmfare Award and three National Film Awards. A veteran of Hind ...
won the
National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress The National Film Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role is an honour presented annually at India's National Film Awards ceremony by the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC), an organisation set up by the Indian Ministry ...
. It was the first film of Benegal’s
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
trilogy A trilogy is a set of three distinct works that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games. Three-part works that are considered components of ...
, which included ''
Sardari Begum ''Sardari Begum'' is a 1996 Indian musical film directed by Shyam Benegal. The film stars Kiron Kher, Amrish Puri, Rajit Kapur and Rajeshwari Sachdev. The film's lead actress Kiron Kher won the 1997 National Film Award - Special Jury Award ...
'' (1996) and ''
Zubeidaa ''Zubeidaa'' is a 2001 Indian film directed by Shyam Benegal and written by Khalid Mohammed. It stars Karisma Kapoor, Rekha, Manoj Bajpayee, Surekha Sikri, Rajit Kapoor, Lillete Dubey, Amrish Puri, Farida Jalal, and Shakti Kapoor. A.R. Ra ...
'' (2001). The film was critically acclaimed and is regarded among his best works. The film’s writer, Khalid Muhammad, mentioned that he wrote the role for
Waheeda Rehman Waheeda Rehman (born 3 February 1938) is an Indian actress. Regarded among the most accomplished actresses of Hindi cinema, she has worked in more than Waheeda Rehman filmography, 90 feature films, in a career spanning over five decades. Her ac ...
who was hesitant to do the role, thus casting
Farida Jalal Farida Jalal (born Farida Sami; 18 May 1950) is an Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi films. In a film career spanning almost fifty years, Jalal appeared in over 200 films. Best known for her character-driven roles in independent cin ...
.


Plot

13-year-old Riyaz (Amit Phalke) lives a poor lifestyle in Bombay, India, with his grandmother, Fayyuzi (
Surekha Sikri Surekha Sikri (19 April 1945 16 July 2021) was an Indian actress widely known for her performance in theatre, films and television. She has received several awards, including a Filmfare Award and three National Film Awards. A veteran of Hind ...
), and her sister, Mehmooda Begum, nicknamed Mammo (
Farida Jalal Farida Jalal (born Farida Sami; 18 May 1950) is an Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi films. In a film career spanning almost fifty years, Jalal appeared in over 200 films. Best known for her character-driven roles in independent cin ...
). Quite outspoken and embittered over his dad abandoning him, Riyaz does not have many friends, save Rohan. When Mammo plans a surprise birthday party for him, Riyaz is offended as he believes his friends will make fun of him as his lifestyle is not as good as theirs. Fayyuzi and Riyaz have an argument with Mammo, and she leaves for the mosque at Haji Ali; she returns when they apologize. Although Mammo was born in Panipat during the British Raj, she was one of thousands of Muslims who left for Pakistan after Partition. She and her husband automatically became Pakistani citizens. Although childless, her marriage is a happy one until her husband's death. Over property matters, Mammo is thrown out of the house by her relatives. Having nowhere else to go, she came to live with her widowed sister in Bombay on a temporary visa. Every month she walks to the nearest police station to get an extension. She finally paid Rs.4800 as a bribe to get a permanent visa through Inspector Apte. When Apte was transferred, a new police inspector took over, processed her papers, took her to be an illegal immigrant, arrested her, had her escorted to the Bombay Central Railway Station and forced her to board the Frontier Mail, which would return her to Pakistan. Riyaz and Fayyuzi make every possible attempt to trace and bring her back, all in vain. Now 20 years later, Riyaz has grown up and has written a book about his Mammo, hoping that someday, somewhere she will find it and they will be reunited. The movie touches upon several emotional aspects of day-to-day life. Unable to extend her visa, she is deported back to Pakistan. Political priorities defeat humanitarian ones. The director shows a happy ending where Mammo comes to Riyaz and her sister at the end. She pretends that she is dead so that she can continue to stay in India thereafter.


Cast

*
Farida Jalal Farida Jalal (born Farida Sami; 18 May 1950) is an Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi films. In a film career spanning almost fifty years, Jalal appeared in over 200 films. Best known for her character-driven roles in independent cin ...
as Mammo *
Surekha Sikri Surekha Sikri (19 April 1945 16 July 2021) was an Indian actress widely known for her performance in theatre, films and television. She has received several awards, including a Filmfare Award and three National Film Awards. A veteran of Hind ...
as Fayyazi * Amit Phalke as Riyaz (Young) *
Rajit Kapoor Rajit Kapur (born 22 May 1963) is an Indian film and theatre actor and director. He is known for his portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi in the 1996 film, '' The Making of the Mahatma'' for which he won the National Film Award for Best Actor. Other n ...
as Riyaz (Adult) *
Lalit Tiwari Lalit Tiwari is an Indian film and television actor. His best-known television roles are that of Sanjaya in the series ''Mahabharat'' (1988–1990), and in the historical television series '' Bharat Ek Khoj - The Discovery of India'' (1988). ...
as Riyaz's father *
Himani Shivpuri Himani Bhatt Shivpuri is an Indian actress who is known for her character roles in Hindi films and Hindi soap operas. She is best known for her role in the films including '' Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!'' (1994), ''Raja'' (1995), '' Dilwale Dulhan ...
as Anwari, Mammo's sister *
Shrivallabh Vyas Shri Vallabh Vyas was an Indian film and television actor. He was known for films including '' Sarfarosh'' (1999), '' Lagaan'' (2001), '' Abhay'' (2001), '' Aan: Men at Work'' (2004), '' Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero'' (2005), ...
as Sabir *
Sandeep Kulkarni Sandeep Kulkarni is an Indian actor who works in Hindi and Marathi films. Early life and background Kulkarni was born in Pune, Maharashtra to Shrikant and Lata Kulkarni. He was raised in a middle-class Marathi Deshastha Brahmin family. He att ...
as Inspector Apte *
Rupal Patel Rupal Patel Dutta is an Indian actress. She is renowned for her character of Kokila Modi in the soap opera ''Saath Nibhaana Saathiya'' (2010–2017), one of the longest-running Indian TV series. Her other notable roles include playing Meenaks ...
as Lady Constable


Soundtrack

The music soundtrack to ''Mammo'' was composed by
Vanraj Bhatia Vanraj Bhatia (Hindi: वनराज भाटिया ; 31 May 1927 – 7 May 2021) was an Indian composer best known for his work in Indian New Wave cinema. He was also one of the leading composers of Western classical music in India. Bha ...
and the lyrics were written by
Gulzar Gulzar (born Sampooran Singh Kalra; 18 August 1934) is an Indian Urdu poetry, Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this era. He starte ...
and the song was sung by
Jagjit Singh Jagjit Singh (born Jagmohan Singh Dhiman; 8 February 1941 – 10 October 2011) was an Indian composer, singer and musician. He composed and sang in List of languages by number of native speakers in India, numerous languages and is credite ...
.


Reception

Reviewing the film at the
International Film Festival of India The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is an annual film festival currently held in Goa, on the western coast of India. The festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excel ...
, S. R. Ashok Kumar of ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...
'' wrote that "This emotional film is one of the best of director Shyam Benegal. Farida Jalal, Surekha Sikri, Amit Phalke, Himani Shivpuri have come out with sterling performances. Music by Vanraj Bhatia adds life to the film".


Accolades


References


External links

* {{Shyam Benegal 1994 drama films 1994 films 1990s Hindi-language films Films with screenplays by Shama Zaidi Films directed by Shyam Benegal Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress National Film Award–winning performance Films set in Mumbai Best Hindi Feature Film National Film Award winners National Film Development Corporation of India films