Maiti Ghar is a Nepali language film, whose production, development, and technical work took place in India. And, the effect of "socialism", which had marred the Indian cinema in 1950s & 60s, shows pretty obviously. The typical left!st narrative of Oppressor-Oppressed; the attack on family institution, the glorification of "breaking free" from the family, are all too obvious in the film.
If the movie had been made in Nepal completely, with ZERO influence from socialist artists from India, then definitely, the film's plot-line would not have had these overtly "liberal" themes.
The plot is simple - A woman (perpetually oppressed, as per left!st narrative) lives in the faraway Himalayas of the Hindu Rashtra Nepal in 1960s. She leads a happy life with a loving husband, a small school-going kid (son), and her in-laws. Everything is fine, until the husband dies in a tragic road accident.
As is expected, the mother-in-law blames the heroine for her bad 'stars' that caused her son's untimely demise. Of course, this is not rational and would have subsided with time. For, the mother-in-law would have grown old and died. But, no, the heroine does not have patience. She -- very selfishly -- runs away from home, leaving her small kid at home. Typical "oppressed woman" socialist left!st narrative. Instead of showing patience, she chooses to "break free" - the favourite solution of lefti!ts.
Now, our so-called "oppressed" heroine who finds it like hell at her home hearing her mother-in-law's occasional curse-words, finds what the real "hell" is. After running away from home, she takes shelter at a courtesan's den. There, she finds what the real "hell" is. That's why it is said that if you do not make small compromises with family, you then end up making big ones with strangers.
Eventually, the heroine does make some of those big compromises, and in the end, there happens a killing in which she is involved. She is sentenced to a long time in jail and dies there (the story is actually told in flashback by her during her jail time).
The build-up at several points in the film is not convincing; neither is the plot-line. This writer has had a firsthand experience with a woman who was from Nepal and became a widow in 1950s. But, she lived a long and healthy life with her family, as a matriarch of the family, no less, and died at the ripe age of 98. So, the film trying to convince us that "the Himalayan villages hound all the young widows" is not entirely accurate. Even if you go as per religious texts, the Arthashastra in great detail mentions remarriage of young widows, by their in-laws no less.
So, while sporadic cases of oppression of young widows may have happened, it was NOT a norm.
On top of that, a nation as seeped in Hinduism as the former Hindu Rashtra Nepal, would make it unlikely for a married woman to become as selfish as the protagonist of "Maiti Ghar", who does not lose one moment in running away from home, leaving her school-going kid alone at home.
And, because of what?
Because of some verbal harsh treatment from her mother-in-law! Do one's own parents not give verbal harsh treatment? Does one always run away from home? No, right.
The film is a misrepresentation of the larger Hindu society of Nepal, who would be far more tolerant of family elders' harsh treatment, not rushing into knee-jerk decisions like running away from home.
Mala Sinha is more or less convincing in her acting, except that her Nepali pronunciation at a few times is shows Hindi influence, perhaps due to her work in Bollywood cinema (remember that she was a big name in Bombay even in 1950s (e.g. Pyasaa (1957)); and "Maiti Ghar" is from late 60s).
Music is definitely worth humming. An eclectic combination of classical-based Lata Mangeshkar songs, to folk-music based family gathering songs.
Cinematography is excellent. The magnificently eye-soothing Annapoorna from Pokhra hills is a treat to watch, even in Black & White.
Overall, an above average film, but with a caveat that its plot-line has lessons against "rash decisions taken on account of differences within family". The plot-line teaches that if one does not make small adjustments with family members, one ends up making big (rather unpleasant) compromises with strangers.
