''Mamta'' () is a 1966 Indian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by Asit Sen, written by

Nihar Ranjan Gupta Nihar Ranjan Gupta ( bn, নীহাররঞ্জন গুপ্ত, pen name: ''Banbhatta'' (বানভট্ট); 6 June 1911 – 20 February 1986) was an Indian dermatologist and a popular Bengali novelist. He is the creator of the fic ...

and

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 ...

, and with music composed by Roshan and written by

Majrooh Sultanpuri Asrar ul Hassan Khan (1 October 1919 − 24 May 2000), better known as Majrooh Sultanpuri, was an Indian Urdu poet and lyricist in India's Hindi language film industry. He wrote Hindustani lyrics for numerous Hindi film soundtracks. He was ...

. The movie stars

Suchitra Sen Suchitra Sen ( ; born as Roma Dasgupta (; 6 April 1931 – 17 January 2014) was an Indian actress who worked in Bengali and Hindi cinema. The movies in which she was paired opposite Uttam Kumar became classics in the history of Bengali cinema ...

Ashok Kumar Kumudlal Ganguly (13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), better known by his stage name Ashok Kumar and also by Dadamoni, was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema and who was a member of the cinematic Ganguly family. He ...

and

Dharmendra Dharam Singh Deol (born 8 December 1935), also known mononymously as Dharmendra, is an Indian actor, producer and politician who is known for his work in Hindi films. Known as the first " He-Man" of Bollywood, Dharmendra has worked in over 301 ...

. The film about middle class fears and class conflict, has lead actress Suchitra Sen in a double role. The film is also noted for its music by Roshan and lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri, in songs like, ''Rahen Na Rahen Hum'' sung by

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her cont ...

and her hit duet, ''Chuppa Lo Yun Dil Mein Pyar Mera'' with

Hemant Kumar Hemanta Mukhopadhyay (16 June 1920 – 26 September 1989), known professionally as Hemant Kumar and Hemanta Mukherjee, was a legendary Indian music composer and playback singer who primarily sang in Bengali and Hindi, as well as other Indian ...

. The film was a remake of Asit Sen's own

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

film, ''

Uttar Falguni ''Uttar Falguni'' () is a 1963 Indian Bengali-language drama film directed by Asit Sen and produced by Uttam Kumar, starring Suchitra Sen in a double role, Bikash Roy and Dilip Mukherjee in lead. At the 11th National Film Awards, the film was ...

'' (1963), also starring Suchitra Sen.

Plot

Monish Rai (

) comes from a wealthy family and is in love with Devayani (

), who is from a poor family. Monish wants to travel abroad for higher studies, and this will be funded by his family. He fears that his family will not approve of Devayani and will refuse to fund his foreign studies if he makes known his intention to marry her. Therefore, he and Devayani agree to delay their wedding until Monish returns to India. Financial problem overwhelm Devayani's father not long after Monish leaves for England. He has been taking new loans to repay old loans, and most of these new loans have come from a certain Rakhal, who poses as a friend and well-wisher of Devayani's father. Rakhal is in fact a vile and dissolute man, and he has his eye on the beautiful Devayani. At a timely moment, Rakhal makes his irresistible proposal to Devayani's father. A simple and rather gullible man, Devayani's father thinks that marrying Rakhal would be a good thing for Devayani because Rakhal is a rich man and Devayani will live a comfortable life. He agrees to give his daughter in marriage to Rakhal. A horrified Devayani tells her father that she does not want to marry at all, but to live with him and take care of him in his old age. This cuts no ice at all with the father, and the wedding date is fixed. A desperate Devayani even approaches Monish's mother for financial assistance, but is refused. The wedding takes place. Rakhal, who is significantly older than Devayani, makes some effort to court her, but she finds him repulsive. Rakhal soon begins to find Devayani's sour and rejectionist attitude tiresome, and he returns to his drinking and gambling cronies. He also resorts to violence when he feels insulted by Devayani's attitude. Rakhal had inherited much wealth from his father, but he is a wastrel with a fondness for drink, cards and dancing girls. He splurges money on his many bad habits and the truth is that much of his money is now gone. Devayani soon becomes pregnant and gives birth to a baby girl, Suparna. Devayani's father dies just around this time, leaving her with nowhere to turn to for succour. Her husband is briefly put in jail after a drunken brawl at a brothel, and it becomes known that his money is finished. Unhappy with her marriage and her circumstances, Devayani runs away and becomes a devadasi, or temple dancer, performing for a male clientele. She is however tracked down by Rakhal, who attempts to kidnap his daughter Suparna on more than one occasion. In order to ensure separation of father and daughter, Devayani leaves Suparna in an orphanage run by Christian missionaries, making the stipulation that Suparna should not be placed for adoption, and that she will contribute for Suparna's upkeep when possible. Devayani relocates and throws herself wholeheartedly into the project of earning a living by singing and dancing for a male audience at a traditional-style brothel (song and dance performances to a male audience, with few if any instances of sex work). Monish returns to the city after completing his education. He has already heard of Devayani's wedding. He is unable to forget her, and he remains unmarried all his life. Once, on the street, he sees a woman who looks like Devayani and calls out to her, but she turns away and quickly sits inside a nearby taxi with no sign of recognition and drives away. Monish is told by others that the person he has seen is a

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

-based prostitute, Pannabai. Is Devayani still alive? Who is Pannabai? What happened to Suparna? The movie relates the story of Devayani's life and revolves around the theme of "mamta" - motherhood, or a mother's love, what a mother does for the protection and well-being of her child, and all the sacrifices made by her in order that her child can live a life filled with status, dignity and love . Veteran actress (

) portrays the double role both of Devayani and Suparna.

Cast

... Barrister Indraneel *

... Devyani - Pannabai / Suparna *

... Monish Rai *

Bipin Gupta Bipin Gupta (21 August 1905 – 9 September 1981) was an Indian actor and artist during the 1930s and 1960s. He acted in Bengali and Hindi cinema, most notably in ''Baiju Bawra'' (1952), ''Jagriti'' (1954), ''Gharana'' (1961) and '' Khilona'' ...

... Kantilal * David Abraham ... Doctor Abraham * Tarun Bose ... Mahadev Prasad *

Pahari Sanyal Pahari Sanyal (22 February 1906 – 10 February 1974) was an Indian actor and singer who is known for his work in Bengali cinema. Sanyal acted in many Bengali films, such as ''Harano Sur'', ''Bhanu Goenda Jahar Assistant'', and ''Shilpi''. B ...

... Prosecuting Lawyer * Pratima Devi ... Mother Mary * Kalipada Chakraborty ... Rakhal Bhattacharya *

Chhaya Devi Chhaya Devi ( bn, ছায়া দেবী; 3 June 1914 – 25 April 2001) was an Indian actress known for her work in Bengali and Hindi cinema. She appeared in hundreds of films for over five decades. Her first lead role was in Debak ...

... Minabai * Rajlakshmi Devi ... Guest at party *

Chaman Puri Chaman Puri was an Indian actor of Hindi and Punjabi films. His younger brothers were Bollywood actors Madan Puri and Amrish Puri. Early life Chaman Lal Puri was the first of five children, with younger brothers Madan Puri, Amrish Puri and Haris ...

... Ghishta Babu - Devyani's dad (uncredited) *

Asit Sen (director) Asit Sen (24 September 1922 – 25 August 2001) was an Indian film director, cinematographer and screenwriter, who worked in both Bengali and Hindi cinema. He was born in Dhaka, now in modern-day Bangladesh, when it was part of East Bengal in ...

as Mahadev Prasad *

Jahor Roy Jahar Roy (19 September 1919 – 1 August 1977) was an Indian actor and comedian in Bengali cinema. He was known for his comedy films with Bhanu Bandyopadhyay. Early life Roy came from a Bengali Baidya family having its root in Mahilara, B ...

Box office

The film performed well at the domestic Indian box office. It was year's 15th highest-grossing film in India, earning (). This was equivalent to estimated footfalls of approximately tickets sold in India. The film became an overseas blockbuster in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, selling tickets in 1969, making it the sixth highest-grossing Indian film ever in the Soviet Union. This was equivalent to an estimated Rbls (, or ). Combined, the film grossed an estimated () worldwide. In terms of footfalls, the film sold an estimated tickets worldwide.

Nominations

Filmfare ''Filmfare'' is an Indian English language, English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of Indian most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, r ...

Nomination for

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

Nomination for

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

- Asit Sen *

Nomination for

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress awar ...

- Suchitra Sen *

Nomination for Best Story - Nihar Ranjan Gupta1st Filmfare Awards 1953
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Music

The songs of the films were composed by Roshan and written by

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mamta (1966 Film) 1966 films 1960s Hindi-language films Films about women in India Hindi remakes of Bengali films Films scored by Roshan 1960s Urdu-language films Films based on works by Nihar Ranjan Gupta Urdu-language Indian films