''Maa Bhoomi'' () is a 1979 Indian

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

-language

social problem A social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common problems in present-day society and ones that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's cont ...

film directed by

Goutam Ghose Goutam Ghose (also spelled Gautam Ghosh born 24 July 1950) is an Indian film director, Actor, music director and cinematographer, who works primarily in Bengali cinema. He is the only Indian to have received the "Vittorio Di Sica" Award, Italy ...

in his debut. The film is produced by

B. Narsing Rao Bongu Narsing Rao (born 1946) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, littérateur, composer, poet, producer, actor and painter known for his works in Telugu cinema, and Telugu theatre. Rao has garnered five National Film Awards, three Nandi ...

, who also wrote the film with Goutam Ghose. The film is based on the novel ''Jab Khet Jage'' by

Krishan Chander Krishan Chander (23 November 1914 – 8 March 1977) was an Indian Urdu and Hindi writer of short stories and novels. Some of his works have also been translated in English. He was a prolific writer, penning over 20 novels, 30 collections o ...

on the

Telangana Rebellion The Telangana Rebellion popularly known as Telangana Sayuda Poratam (Telugu : తెలంగాణ సాయుధ పోరాటం) of 1946–51 was a communist-led insurrection of peasants against the princely state of Hyderabad in the r ...

Hyderabad State Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and t ...

. It depicts a typical life of villagers under feudalistic society in the Telangana region. The features

Sai Chand Sai or SAI may refer to: Companies * Science Applications Incorporated, original name of Leidos * ICAO designator for Shaheen Air, a Pakistani airline * Skandinavisk Aero Industri, a former Danish aeroplane manufacturer * Software Architects, In ...

, Rami Reddy and

Telangana Shakuntala Telangana Shakuntala (27 March 1951 – 14 June 2014) was an Indian actress who worked in the Telugu cinema. She was known chiefly for playing comedy and villainous characters in Tollywood. Her performances in movies like ''Osey Ramulamma'', ' ...

in pivotal roles. The plot follows Ramayya, a landless peasant who joins the

of 1948. Released on 23 March 1979, the film was a commercial success and had a theatrical run of over a year. Maa Bhoomi was India's official entry in the "Opera Primo" section at the ''

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival ( cs, Mezinárodní filmový festival Karlovy Vary) is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become ...

'' of June–July 1980, and the ''

Cork Film Festival The Cork International Film Festival, also known as the Cork Film Festival (), is a film festival held annually in Cork City, Ireland. It was established in 1956 as part of An Tóstal An Tóstal (, meaning "The Gathering") was the name for a serie ...

'', October 1980, the ''Cairo and Sidney Film Festivals'' 1980. The film was showcased at the ''Indian Panorama'' of the 7th International Film Festival of India. ''Maa Bhoomi'' won the state

Nandi Award for Best Feature Film This is the list of winners of the Nandi Award for Best Feature Films since 1964. Best Feature Film - Gold Second Best Feature Film - Silver Third Best Feature Film - Bronze References See also * Cinema of Andhra Pradesh {{DEFAULTSORT:Nan ...

, and the

Filmfare Best Film Award (Telugu) The Filmfare Award for Best Film is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. The award was first given in 1954. Here is a list of the award winners and the nominees of the respective years. Eac ...

. It is featured among ''

CNN-IBN CNN-News18 (originally CNN-IBN) is an Indian English-language news television channel founded by Raghav Bahl based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is currently co-owned by Network18 Group and Warner Bros. Discovery. CNN provides internationa ...

'''s list of "hundred greatest Indian films of all time".

Plot

The film follows the story of a young landless

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...

peasant named Ramayya (Sai Chand) from Siripuram, Nalgonda, a region under foreign rule. The

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

have appointed the

Nizam The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

as the region's governor. The Nizam, in turn, has appointed the

Reddy Reddy (also transliterated as ''Raddi'', ''Reddi'', ''Reddiar'', ''Reddappa'', ''Reddy'') is a caste that originated in India, predominantly settled in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. They are classified as a forward caste. The origin of the ...

s 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 has granted them with titles,

Jagir A jagir ( fa, , translit=Jāgir), also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar (Zamindar) system. It developed during the Islamic rule era of the Indian subcontinent, start ...

s and judicial rights enabling them to seize thousands of acres of land from the peasants, turning them into tenants. Ramayya 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 formed various paramilitary groups and launch

guerilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tac ...

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 Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

reporting the events to the Nizam leadership. The Nizam commands the

Razakars Razakar (رضا کار) is etymologically an Arabic word which literally means volunteer. The word is also common in Urdu language as a loanword. On the other hand, in Bangladesh, razakar is a pejorative word meaning a traitor or Judas. In Pakista ...

, 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 Operation Polo was the code name of the Hyderabad "police action" in September 1948, by the then newly independent Dominion of India against Hyderabad State. It was a military operation in which the Indian Armed Forces invaded the Nizam-rule ...

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

as Ramayya * Rami Reddy *

Pradeep Shakthi Pradeep Shakthi (25 July 1954 – 20 February 2016) was an Indian Telugu actor, director and businessman. Pradeep Shakthi, born as Raja Vasireddy, was from the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. He was introduced to Telugu cinema by director ...

as Pratapa Reddy *

Gaddar Gummadi Vittal Rao (born 1949), popularly known as Gaddar, is an Indian poet, revolutionary balladeer, activist and a former naxalite. Gaddar was active in the Naxalite movement till 2010, and later joined the movement for Telangana's stat ...

*Kakarala

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"

Awards

;

Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are the awards that recognise the excellence in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre and Telugu television, and Lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. Presented annually by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the award is named after ...

(in

) * Second Best Feature Film -

and G. Ravindranath * Best Screenplay Writer -

and Pran Rao ;

Filmfare Awards South Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Indian film industry encompassing ...

References

External links

* {{Filmfare Best Telugu Film 1979 directorial debut films 1979 films Films about poverty in India Films about social issues in India Films directed by Goutam Ghose Films set in Hyderabad, India Films set in Telangana History of India on film Indian avant-garde and experimental films Indian docudrama films Indian drama films Indian nonlinear narrative films Indian war drama films Indian war films 1970s Telugu-language films Films based on Indian novels