Looking back at the success of Jai Santoshi Maa

The film "Jai Santoshi Maa," released in May 1975, became a spiritual revolution. Film critic Dilip Thakur claims that the validation of female audiences was the key to the film's success, which paved the way for similar films to come. Despite the craze surrounding Ramesh Sippy's Sholay, the only film to stand its ground was "Jai Santoshi Maa." The iconic song "Main Toh Aarti Utaaru Re" became a real-world aarti, and people across cities and villages sang it as a prayer. Celebrated lyricist, Kavi Pradeep wrote the lyrics of the song, and the tune was based on Gujarati garba.