| Mutthi Bhar Chawal | |
| Director: | Sangeeta |
| Screenplay: | Rajinder Singh Bedi |
| Story: | Rajinder Singh Bedi |
| Starring: | |
| Cinematography: | Azhar Burki |
| Editing: | Z.A. Zulfi |
| Music: | Kamal Ahmed |
| Production Companies: | --> |
| Distributors: | --> |
| Country: | Pakistan |
| Language: | Urdu |
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.[1] 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.[2]
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.[3] It is one of the Pakistani films with the maximum number of awards won, including six Nigar Awards. BBC Urdu made it in the list of 10 Best selected Pakistani cinema films.[4]
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.[5]
The film was remade as a television series with same title, directed by Sangeeta and aired in 2008.[6]
| width=5% | Year | Award | Category | Awardee | Nominated work | Result | width=5% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Nigar Awards | Best film | Mutthi Bhar Chawal | Mutthi Bhar Chawal | [7] | |||
| Best Director | Sangeeta | |||||||
| Best Actress | Sangeeta | |||||||
| Best Editing | Z.A. Zulfi | |||||||
| Best Supporting Actress | Shehla Gill | |||||||
| Best Special Performance | Ghulam Mohiuddin |