Directed by Acharya Atre, starring Vanamala Pawar in the lead role.
Cast: Madhav Vaze
Crew: Pralhad Keshav Atre (Director), CM Rele (Director of Photography), Vasant Desai (Music Director)
Rating: U (India)
Genres: Drama
Release Dates: 01 Jan 1953 (India)
Marathi Name: श्यामची आई
Did you know? This is a major Marathi melodrama based on one of the most influential 20th C. Marathi novels (1935), a fictionalised account of the childhood years of Sane Guruji (1899-1950). A nationalist influenced by Vinoba Bhave and esp. Gandhi, he was imprisoned repeatedly for his work among the peasantry and participation in the Quit India agitations. His book 'Shyamchi Aai', written in jail, has 45 episodes in which Shyam, a youth living in poverty in Konkan, recalls the teachings of his mother. Despite its emphasis on a ruralist realism, the characters remain exemplary and (surprisingly for Atre) humourless stereotypes. The film, like the book, relies on flashbacks as Sane Guruji (D. Joshi) tells the stories in homage to a person to whom he owes everything. Episodes showing the young Shyam’s maturation culminate in the mother’s death. Read More
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as Shyam
Supporting Actor
as Sane Guruji
Supporting Actress
Supporting Actress
as Shyam's Mother
Direction
Director
Camera and Electrical
Director of Photography
Editorial
Editor
Film Type:
Feature
Language:
Marathi
Colour Info:
Black & White
Sound Mix:
Mono
Frame Rate:
24 fps
Aspect Ratio:
2.35:1
Stereoscopy:
No
Movie Connection(s):
Dubbed into: Shyamchi Aai (Hindi)
Trivia:
The film won the first ever President's Gold Medal/Golden Lotus Award for Best Film at the inaugural National Film Awards Set up by the Government of India in 1954.
The film incorporates the heavy nationalist symbolism associated with the mother (Vanamala), a devoutly religious person with an earthy philosophy, as well as the sentimental depiction of her relationship with her son (Vaze).
This is a major Marathi melodrama based on one of the most influential 20th C. Marathi novels (1935), a fictionalised account of the childhood years of Sane Guruji (1899-1950). A nationalist influenced by Vinoba Bhave and esp. Gandhi, he was imprisoned repeatedly for his work among the peasantry and participation in the Quit India agitations. His book 'Shyamchi Aai', written in jail, has 45 episodes in which Shyam, a youth living in poverty in Konkan, recalls the teachings of his mother. Despite its emphasis on a ruralist realism, the characters remain exemplary and (surprisingly for Atre) humourless stereotypes. The film, like the book, relies on flashbacks as Sane Guruji (D. Joshi) tells the stories in homage to a person to whom he owes everything. Episodes showing the young Shyam’s maturation culminate in the mother’s death.
The hit film has remained a generic landmark in Marathi melodrama, esp. for Vanamala’s maternal prototype. The book has been analysed by Shanta Gokhale (1990).
The film incorporates the heavy nationalist symbolism associated with the mother (Vanamala), a devoutly religious person with an earthy philosophy, as well as the sentimental depiction of her relationship with her son (Vaze).
This is a major Marathi melodrama based on one of the most influential 20th C. Marathi novels (1935), a fictionalised account of the childhood years of Sane Guruji (1899-1950). A nationalist influenced by Vinoba Bhave and esp. Gandhi, he was imprisoned repeatedly for his work among the peasantry and participation in the Quit India agitations. His book 'Shyamchi Aai', written in jail, has 45 episodes in which Shyam, a youth living in poverty in Konkan, recalls the teachings of his mother. Despite its emphasis on a ruralist realism, the characters remain exemplary and (surprisingly for Atre) humourless stereotypes. The film, like the book, relies on flashbacks as Sane Guruji (D. Joshi) tells the stories in homage to a person to whom he owes everything. Episodes showing the young Shyam’s maturation culminate in the mother’s death.
The hit film has remained a generic landmark in Marathi melodrama, esp. for Vanamala’s maternal prototype. The book has been analysed by Shanta Gokhale (1990).
