Mutthi Bhar Chawal (A Handful of Rice) is a 1978 Pakistani classical Urdu film based on a short novel of Rajinder Singh Bedi, Ek Chadar Maili Si. Directed by Sangeeta and composed by Kamal Ahmed, it features Sangeeta, Nadeem Baig, Kaveeta, Shehla Gill, Rahat Kazmi, and Ghulam Mohiuddin in lead roles. It is one of the greatest hits of Sangeeta and debut film of Syed Noor as a screenwriter.
The film is about a village life and struggle of a family to survive after father dies and a village woman becomes widowed as a result. It is one of the Pakistani films with the maximum number of awards won, including five Nigar Awards. BBC Urdu made it in the list of 10 Best selected Pakistani cinema films.
Plot
A Sikh woman Rani/Rano lives in East Punjab with her in-laws. When Rano suddenly becomes widowed after her husband dies in a horse and carriage accident, she struggles to raise her children. Her in-laws come with a marriage proposal and forcibly ask her to marry Rano's brother-in-law Mangal who is in love with a vegetable seller's daughter, Lajjo and is much younger than her and who always saw her as a sister-in-law.
Cast
Nadeem Baig as Mangal
Shehla Gill as Rano's daughter
Sangeeta as Rano
Ghulam Mohiuddin as Ghulam Mohi-Vo-Din
Kaveeta as Lajjo
Remake
The film was remade as a television series with same title, directed by Sangeeta and aired in 2008.