The year 1975 was a historical year for Hindi Cinema. This was the year that saw the release of Sholay which became a milestone for Indian cinema. Apart from Sholay, there were a host of movies from big banners, bigger stars and directors like Deewar, Dharmatma, Pratigya, Sanyasi, Khel Khel Mein, Chupke Chupke, Mili, Warrant and Amanush to name a few. But one film that stood out among all was Jai Santoshi Maa. In the era of the angry young man and changing values (?), this low budget mythological film caught the audience’s imagination and set the box office on fire. Its been 50 years since its release. So, I felt it was time to visit this movie and see what the fuss is about!

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The Plot

Jai Santoshi Maa begins with a scene depicting Raksha Bandhan of the gods. Mansa is tying rakhi to her brother Lord Ganesha. His children request her to tie a rakhi but she refuses as she is not their sister. The children run to their father Lord Ganesha and wish (or demand) that he “arrange” a sister for them. His wives Riddhi and Siddhi are supportive of the demand.

Devarishi Narad (Mahipal) arrives and hears the conversation cum request. Narad also requests Ganesha to fulfil his sons’ wish. Lord Ganesha obliges and we see the arrival of his daughter or “Manaskanya”. She is named Santoshi Mata by Narad as someone who will bring happiness and satisfaction in one’s life.

The attention shifts from heaven to earth in Sonepur with the title song Main to aarti utaru re. The heroine Satyavati (Kanan Kaushal) is singing in the temple. She has only one wish from the goddess – a loving husband. Her father is Bharat Bhushan. His only wish is to get her married and be relieved of his responsibility.

While returning from the temple, her friends tease her about marriage. She runs and collides with a young man Birju/ Brij Ram (Ashish Kumar). Satyavati and Birju look at each other and there is an instant connect.

She leaves and he is left in thought. Birju is a singer from the neighbouring town of Mirpur. He roams all day, immersed in music. He is part of a big joint family. His mother is played by Leela Mishra. He has 6 brothers, the eldest being Daya Ram (Manher Desai), followed by Bhairav Ram (Rajan Haksar). All brothers are married. Their respective wives (played by Bela Bose and Asha Potdar) are not happy with Birju. He does not contribute anything while his brothers slog in the fields whole day.

Birju arrives in Sonepur for a festival. Satyavati recognises him as the same person she had collided with. She has not forgotten him. The priest welcomes him and requests him to sing a song in appreciation of Santoshi Maa. He sings Yahan wahan jahan tahan mat pucho kahan kahan hai Santoshi Maa describing that the goddess is everywhere.

After the song, Satyavati is pushed by her friends to compliment him but she mutters some appreciative words and runs away shyly. Outside, she is met by Banke (a dacoit), who tries to molest her. She shouts for help and Birju comes to her aid.

Banke and his band of dacoits are beaten by Birju. Satyavati is relieved and thanks him for his timely intervention. She notices he has got injured and brings him home. Her father is thankful to Birju. He enquires about Birju’s family.

Later, as he is leaving, Birju admits his love for Satyavati. Satyavati goes to the temple and prays to Santoshi Mata to fulfil her wish of getting married to Birju. If this happens, she will visit all temples of Santoshi Mata in different locations.

The match gets fixed, followed by marriage. The baraat arrives at Birju’s house. Satyavati’s sisters in law (bhabhis) have ensured that she will not feel welcome right from the start. After a couple of scripted “inauspicious” happenings, they taunt her by talking about her poverty. Satyavati is disturbed but Birju calms her down.

Birju’s mother tells his brothers to start taking him to the fields. Next day, a reluctant Birju does so. In a random moment, he runs away and comes to meet Satyavati. He says she had called him which is not the case! The eldest brother Daya Ram is amused by the behaviour of the newly weds but Bhairav Ram is not. Nor are their wives.

Satyvati tells Birju of her promise to Santoshi Mata. Accordingly, they go on a pilgrimage and visit her temples in multiple locations (considering the budget of the movie it is clear that the lead pair do not visit all the temples, most of their shots are shot in a studio and the editing “attempts” to make it look otherwise!)

Now is the time to introduce a twist as the newly weds cannot be allowed to remain happy. Devarishi Narad goes to meet the 3 goddesses Laxmi (Neelam), Parvati (Lata Arora) and Brahmani (Padma Rani). He tells them that the people on earth are singing praise of the goddess Santoshi Mata. They are miffed at hearing this. He further quotes the example of Satyavati, who is a param bhakta of only one goddess – Santoshi Mata. They are further annoyed when their husbands (Vishnu, Mahesh and Brahma) disguise as sadhus and visit Satyvati. Her bhabhis insult the sadhus but Satyavati offers them prasad in the form of gud and chana, and displays her devotion. It is time for the 3 goddesses to spice up the proceedings.

Satyavati notices that her husband is being fed leftovers by his bhabhis. Birju is incensed when he comes to know this. There is a strong altercation between the brothers. (Daya Ram is not at home). Bhairav Ram and the younger brothers insult Birju, calling him useless “(nikamma).” Birju decides to leave the house. He vows he will return only after he becomes a rich man and not live at the mercy of his brothers. He tells Satyavati to await his return and leaves abruptly. He starts his journey by getting on a boat.

Thanks to the conspiring goddesses, there is a storm and the boat capsizes. This time, the goddesses arrive in disguise in Birju’s house and inform that he got thrown off the boat and drowned. Birju’s mother and Dayaram are devastated to hear this. Satyavati refuses to accept he is dead. And indeed, Birju is alive. He was about to drown but Santoshi Maa saves him in time.

Birju is looking for means to earn money. He comes in contact with a rich man (jeweller) by helping him when he faints near a temple. The man employs him. Birju is a hard worker and impresses his employer. Again, due to the goddesses, he falls for the man’s daughter Geeta (Rajni Bala) and forgets about Satyavati and his family.

Satyavati’s hardships continue. The bhabhis treat her like a servant and give her hell. Satyavati’s father comes to meet her and take her with him. But she refuses, as she believes her husband is alive and will return one day. She attempts suicide but Narad saves her. He asks her to perform the Sola Shukrawar vrat and pray to Santoshi Mata.

Where will this lead to? Will Birju remember Satyavati? Will they reunite? And what is Santoshi Maa’s role when her devotees are suffering without losing their devotion?

The Music

The songs did well. Kavi Pradeep was the lyricist and C Arjun the music director. The female songs were sung by Usha Mangeshkar. The title song Main to aarti utaru re appears twice and has become one of the staple songs for Dandiya nights during the Navratri festival. The lyrics are simple and tune catchy. Then we have Karti hu tumhara vrat main sweekar karo maa and Madad karo Santoshi mata.

Yahan wahan jahan tahan also appears twice, once in Mahendra Kapoor’s voice and later by Pradeep. Manna Dey sings the sad song Mat ro aaj Radhike.

My Thoughts

The story unfolds in a predictable format. The reason why the goddesses keep testing Satyavati is not convincing. The film seems like a family drama or soap opera. It is a stretch to watch with things getting repetitive. The evil sisters in law are at their manipulative best and irritating. Same for Narad and the goddesses track. The colors are garish and the sets evidently low budget. Such mythological films would typically have some “miracle” scenes requiring special effects which are fun to watch. But here you hardly see such scenes, making it less engaging.

Anita Guha plays the role of Santoshi Maa. She doesn’t have much to do except getting angry and helping the characters when they are in need. The main leads Ashish Kumar and Kanan Kaushal look older for their roles. Ashish Kumar reminds you of a combination of Bharat Bhushan and Biswajeet. Rest of the supporting cast perform as required.

That brings me back to the question – what made the film click ? Was it mere devotion? Or was it a bit of a welcome change to see a different movie in the era of the angry young man? Or was it pure luck?

Whatever be the reason, the film created box office history. Unfortunately, the film’s producer Satram Rohra could not repeat the magic with later films like Nawab Sahib.