Mamta is director Asit Sen’s remake of his earlier Bengali hit Uttor Phalguni. Suchitra Sen stars in the double role of mother Devyani and daughter Suparna.
Actors: Suchitra Sen (in double role), Ashok Kumar, Dharmendra
Music: Roshan
Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri
Playback: Lata Mangeshkar, Mohd Rafi, Hemant Kumar, Asha Bhosle, Suman Kalyanpur, Sandhya Mukherjee
Story: Nihar Ranjan Gupta (adapted from the Bengali novel Uttor Phalguni)
Director: Asit Sen
Mamta: The Story
Mamta is a poignant story of the eternal struggle of a mother to ensure a safe and healthy upbringing for her child. The simple, educated Devyani is forced into marriage with a drunkard lout when her lover Manish Roy goes abroad for studies.
Unable to bear the torment and with nowhere to go, she leaves home and finds shelter ironically with an ageing “baiji” (courtesan), and eventually has no option but to become a courtesan herself with the name “Pannabai”.
Her desperate attempts to keep her little daughter Suparna away from the vicious influence of her lumpen husband forces her to put the child away in a missionary boarding school. The convent makes her promise that she would not come to meet her daughter ever.
By a quirk of fate, Devyani meets Manish again, who steps in to take charge of the little girl. Manish, now one of the leading lawyers of Kolkata, who never married after he lost his love, brings up the girl with all his affection. Suparna grows up into a foreign educated barrister, unaware of the sacrifices her mother has put in over the years, who pines to get just one glimpse of her child.
Behind The Scenes
Mamta is ace director Asit Sen’s remake of his earlier Bengali hit Uttor Phalguni. Suchitra Sen stars in both the Bengali and Hindi versions in the double role of Devyani and Suparna.
The film is considered a landmark for its evocative performances, hit songs and unusual storyline. Mamta is one of the 7 odd Hindi films Suchitra Sen did in her very brief brush with Hindi cinema. But her spontaneous performance in a challenging double role made her a tough contender for the 1966 Best Actress Filmfare award, which eventually went to Waheeda Rehman for Guide.
In fact, Waheeda was rather surprised to be told that she had won the award, she admitted recently in a TV interview. “Not against Suchitra. Not against Mamta!” she had exclaimed then, she remembered. Waheeda Rehman’s candid comment proved that Suchitra Sen’s sterling performance had earned the appreciation of her competitors too!
Legendary playback singer Lata Mangeshkar picked Rahe na rahe hum…the melodious song from Mamta as one of 20 all time favorite songs.
“The music and lyrics make for a great composition,” Lata Mangeshkar said in an interview to Hindustan Times Brunch.
The film has a number of other hit songs:
Rehte the kabhi jinke dil mein
hum jaan se bhi pyaaron ki tarah
(Lata Mangeshkar)
Chhupa lo yun dil mein pyar mera,
ke jaise mandir mein lau diye ki
(Lata Mangeshkar, Hemant Kumar)
In bahaaron mein akele na phiro
raah mein kaali ghata rok na le
(Mohd Rafi, Asha Bhosle)
Related Posts on Suchitra Sen
Two Legends and Their Lives: Uttam Kumar Suchitra Sen
Uttam Kumar – Suchitra Sen: Enduring Magic of the Iconic Romantic Pair
10 Most Romantic Songs in Hindi Cinema – Part I
The Nightingale’s Everlasting Melodies
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