At the beginning sequence in Mother India, Mehboob directs the camera that pans slowly right to left on a group of walking men who wear white clothing and are visiting old Radha who is sitting outdoor on a porch. The camera moves from far shot to mid shot when one of the men talks to her at her ear. The camera is above his shoulder and closes in on her face and the camera angle is looking down to her face so that it shows all her wrinkles and she looks up at his face slowly. The shot changes to mid shot and shows some of the men and her. Behind her back, a man is recording while these people are talking.
The camera dissolves to the river and then goes to a far shot and pans right to left quickly. And then the scene changes to outdoof in of Radha’s neighborhood. A far shot shows lots of people are gathering and watching Radha’s celebration. The camera has a crane shot to close in on her face to show receiving an award. A man brings a flower necklace and tries to hang in on her neck, she refuses it, while this happening, the camera is still in close up on her face. However, the man hangs the flowers on her shoulders and she smells them and remembers her wedding. Fast music changes to a slow and mournful tempo.
The next scene is a dissolved and disjunctive shot from old Radha to young Radha who is at her wedding. Her husband hangs a flower necklace on her. It is a far shot that shows the scene changes to a neighborhood in Bombay. Lots of people gather and have a celebration for her wedding and then the camera dissolves to a mid shot that shows Shamu and Radha are sitting and hold hands. Also the camera dissolves to another mid shot in which Shamu turns and walks to the camera and Radha follows him. And then the shot dissolves to another scene in which Radha walks to the camera and Shamu follows her in a mid shot.
The camera dissolves to another mid shot and focuses on Radha. Shamu scatters red powder on her head and the he presses the middle of her forehead with his thumb at the same time the camera uses continuity shots. The angle goes from Radha’s view to Shamu’s view. This might mean that Radha would accept any happenings to her after her marriage and he feels sorry about leading her to poverty and all the difficulties of her life without being them together in their marriage.
The camera dissolves to another a scene that shows Shamu and Radha’s feet coming out from a door step by step. Shamu bends his waist and touches someone’s feet. The camera dissolves to a far shot on lots of people gathering in the center of the neighborhood for Radha’s wedding. The main haunting melody of Mother India repeats in the scene. The camera dissolves to a mid shot of Radha’s parents who are crying. After that the camera dissolves to a far shot on lots of people following Radha who leaves from her village to Shamu’s home. This scene shows the audience that Radha’s life is gone and she will get a new life for her husband. Lots of people in her village say good-bye to her. The camera closes in on her covering her face with a red silk and then it shows a far shot on a river course. Buffalo in a row carry her boxes of her wedding gifts to her husband by crossing a river. Again the camera shows a close up of Radha in profile who doesn’t have any expression on her face. The scene is back and forth in a close up and a mid shot of her during she is in the bugffalo cart. She drops her eyes down. Her husband is next to her but the camera is focusing on her in mid shot.
The screen changes to the landscape that shows a big sky with a horizontal view and lots of buffalo in a line that move to Shamus’s home during sun down. Still a melody is playing. The camera dissolves to Shamu’s house’s door where Radha is coming in to his house. The camera faces Shamu’s house’s door and it shows two girls holding her by each arm other people behind her. The shot pans down to the floor. On some symbols, a colorful design under her feet; a girl breaks a