''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 ...

-language social problem film directed by Goutam Ghose 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 in

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 ...

. It depicts a typical life of villagers under feudalistic society in the Telangana region. The features Sai Chand, Rami Reddy and Telangana Shakuntala in pivotal roles. The plot follows Ramayya, a landless peasant who joins the Telangana Rebellion 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 becom ...

'' 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 Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the ...

'', 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 The 7th International Film Festival of India was held from 3–17 January 1979 in New Delhi. The festival opened with " Junoon" by Shyam Benegal in the out of Competition world premiere. The festival was the only competitive and exclusive interna ...

. ''Maa Bhoomi'' won the state Nandi Award for Best Feature Film, and the Filmfare Best Film Award (Telugu). 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 internat ...

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

Plot

The film follows the story of a young landless

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 35 ...

peasant named Ramayya (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, has 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 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, starti ...

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 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, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...

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 Pakis ...

, 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

* Sai Chand as Ramayya * Rami Reddy * Telangana Shakuntala * Pradeep Shakthi 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(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 ...

* Filmfare Best Film Award (Telugu) -

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