Mammo 1994 124’ col Hindi d Shyam Benegal pc NFDC st/co-sc Khalid Mohamed co-sc Shama Zaidi dial Javed Siddiqui lyr Gulzar c Prasann Jain m Vanraj Bhatia lp Farida Jalal, Surekha Sikri, Amit Phalke, Himani Shivpuri, Rajit Kapoor

Benegal’s melodrama addresses the condition of Muslim refugees in Bombay, an issue made relevant by the Hindu Shiv Sena’s attacks on minorities in the city as alleged ‘Pakistanis’. Mammo, aka Mahmood Begum (Jalal), arrives in Bombay unannounced to stay with her sister Fayyazi (Sikri) and the latter’s orphaned grandson Riyaz (Phalke). She was evicted from her marital home in Lahore after her husband’s death. Arriving on a temporary visitor’s visa, she tries legally as well as through bribery to convert the visa into one enabling permanent residence, asserting her right to stay on as an Indian national. The story is told through the eyes of Riyaz, who initially resents her arrival in their cramped Bombay flat. Mammo is deported, but returns in the end, hopefully for good.

Film