Maa Bhoomi

Maa Bhoomi (transl. Our land) is a 1979 Indian Telugu-language social problem film written and produced by B. Narsing Rao, based on a play by Krishan Chander on the Telangana Rebellion in Hyderabad State.[1] The directorial debut of Goutam Ghose, depicts a typical life of villagers under feudalistic society in the Telangana region. Maa Bhoomi was India's official entry in the "Opera Primo" section at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival of June-July 1980, and the Cork Film Festival, October 1980,[2] the Cairo and Sidney Film Festivals 1980.[3] The film was showcased at the Indian Panorama of the 1980 International Film Festival of India.[4] Maa Bhoomi won the state Nandi Award for Best Feature Film, and the Filmfare Best Film Award (Telugu).[5] It is featured among CNN-IBN's list of hundred greatest Indian films of all time.[6]

Maa Bhoomi
Poster
Directed byGoutam Ghose
Produced byB. Narsing Rao
G. Ravindranath
Screenplay byB. Narsing Rao
Partho Banerjee (dialogue)
Story byKrishan Chander
StarringSai Chand
Rami Reddy
Telangana Shakuntala
Music byVinjamuri Seetha Devi
CinematographyKamal Naik
Edited byRaj Gopal
Production
company
Chaithanya Chithra International
Release date
  • 1979 (1979)
Running time
158 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTelugu

Plot

The film follows the story of a young landless Telangana peasant named Ramaiah (Sai Chand) from Siripuram, Nalgonda, a region under foreign rule. The British have appointed the Nizam as the region's governor. The Nizam in turn have appointed the Reddys and the Patils as the Zamindars (Known locally as Doras) of the region who collect taxes among various other things for the Nizam. Further, the Nizam have granted them with titles, Jagirs and judicial rights enabling them to seize thousands of acres of land from the peasants, turning them into tenants.

Ramaiah rebels against the corrupt Nizam leadership in Hyderabad. When his wife has to submit to sexual coercion by the officials, he befriends the Communists and participates in the independence struggle. The peasants form various paramilitary groups and launch guerilla warfare attacks across the region with country made weapons. They raid and take over regional Dora bases across rural Telangana at night and burn all the land documents found in the bases in the open yard symbolising their triumph. Eventually, they take over the village after the Indian Independence.

The Doras manage to escape to Hyderabad reporting the events to the Nizam leadership. The Nizam commands the Razakars, a private Islamist militia, which perpetrates a massacre of the Telangana peasants. After months of burning, looting, rapes and killings, the Indian army marches into Hyderabad and suppresses the Razakars and the Nizam with Operation Polo in September 1948 and annexes the Telangana region back into the Indian Union. In independent India, the Zamindars (Doras) are returned to power by joining the Congress government. The Doras have abandoned the Nizam and pledged allegiance to the Congress Party.

Cast

Soundtrack
  • "Bandenaka Bandi Katti Padahaaru Bandlu Katti" written by Bandi Yadagiri
  • "Palletoori Pillagaada Pasalagaase Monagaada" (with titles) written by Suddala Hanumanthu
  • "Podala Podala Gatla Naduma, Podicinadhira Chandamama"

State Awards

References
  1. "Award-winning B. Narasinga Rao brings quality to Telugu cinema". India Today.
  2. "Filmtsav' 80 Pg 17" (PDF). DFF.
  3. "8th IFFI Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 January 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  4. "Indian Panorama 1979–80" (PDF). DFF.
  5. "Narsing Rao's films regale Delhi" (Press release). webindia123.com. 21 December 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  6. "100 Years of Indian Cinema: The 100 greatest Indian films of all time". Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  7. Krishnamoorthy, Suresh (24 March 2015). "Maa Bhoomi will forever be alive in people's minds". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
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