Water (2005 film)
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- For the 1985 British comedy film, see Water (1985 film).
| Water | |
|---|---|
 Film poster |
|
| Directed by | Deepa Mehta |
| Produced by | David Hamilton |
| Written by | Deepa Mehta |
| Starring | Lisa Ray John Abraham Seema Biswas Sarala |
| Music by | A. R. Rahman Mychael Danna |
| Cinematography | Giles Nuttgens |
| Editing by | Colin Monie |
| Distributed by | Fox Searchlight Pictures (U.S.) Mongrel Media (Canada) B.R. Films (India) |
| Release date(s) |
September 8, 2005 (Toronto)
See release dates section |
| Running time | 114 min. |
| Language | Hindi |
| Preceded by | Fire (1996) Earth (1998) |
| IMDb profile | |
Water is a Canadian 2005 film directed and written by Deepa Mehta. It is set in 1938 and examines the plight of impoverished widows at an ashram in Varanasi, India. The film is also the third part of a linked trilogy by Mehta, preceded by Fire (1996) and Earth (1998).
The film stars Lisa Ray, Seema Biswas, John Abraham, and Sarala in pivotal roles and Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Waheeda Rehman, Raghuvir Yadav, Manorama, and Vinay Pathak in supporting roles. The film's score was composed by Mychael Danna, and songs for the film were composed by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics by Sukhwinder Singh. Cinematography is by Giles Nuttgens, who has worked with Deepa Mehta in all her films.
The film has been selected as the official entry from Canada in the best foreign language film category at the 2007 edition of the Academy Awards. [1]
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
Water is set in 1938, when India was still under the colonial rule of the British, and when the marriage of children to older men was commonplace. When a man died, his widow would be forced to spend the rest of her life in a widow's ashram, an institution for widows to make amends for the sins from her previous life that supposedly caused her husband's death.
Chuyia (Sarala) is a eight year old girl who has just lost her husband. She is deposited in the ashram for Hindu widows to spend the rest of her life in renunciation. There are fourteen women who live in the small, dilapidated two-storey house built around a central courtyard. The women are sent here to expiate bad karma, as well as to relieve their families of financial and emotional burdens. The ashram is ruled by Madhumati (Manorama), a fat and pompous lady in her 70s. Her only friend is the pimp, Gulabi (Raghuvir Yadav), a sprightly hijra (eunuch) and also a hermaphrodite, who not only keeps Madhumati supplied with ganja, but also with the latest gossip.
The two also have a side business; Gulabi helps Madhumati to prostitute Kalyani (Lisa Ray). Kalyani, who was forced into prostitution as a child to support the ashram, is valued for her beauty, and is the only widow whose hair is not shorn.
Shakuntala (Seema Biswas) is perhaps the most enigmatic of the widows. She is good-looking enough, a sharp, dark person with black-brown eyes. Yet she exudes enough anger that even Madhumati leaves her alone. Quiet and reserved, Shakuntala is caught between her hatred of being a widow and her fear of not being one. Shakuntala is a very devout Hindu who seeks the counsel of Sadananda (Khulbushan Kharbanda), a gentle-looking priest in his late forties who recites the scriptures to the pilgrims who throng the ghats of the holy city.
Chuyia is convinced that her mother will come to take her away. With that thought firmly tucked in her mind, she quickly adapts to her new life. Madhumati sternly initiates her into widowhood.
One day, Kalyani meets Narayan (John Abraham), a young and charming upper-class follower of Mahatma Gandhi and of Gandhism. Upon meeting Kalyani there is an immediate attraction, but the restriction placed on interaction with widows makes it difficult to find a way of pursuing any kind of relationship. Kalyani, also attracted to Narayan, tells him, in deference to tradition, to go away as it is a sin to speak with widows.
Kalyani cannot get the young man she met at the ghats out of her mind and she begins to refuse to oblige Madhumati and her `clients.' Meanwhile, Narayan ponders how he can arrange a clearly forbidden meeting. Narayan finds a way to meet with Kalyani and during a covered buggy ride through the British section of the city, declares his intent to take her away to Calcutta. Kalyani returns to the widows' house and whispers the secret of her wedding plans to Chuyia, who is thrilled at the prospect of a wedding feast where one can eat as many sweets and forbidden food as one desires.
One of Chuyia's many tasks is massaging Madhumati's fat legs. This she does by walking along their spongy length. Brimming over with the suppressed secret of the imminent marriage and all the puri that she will eat, she blurts out the couple's secret to Madhumati.
Consequently, all hell breaks loose at the house for Hindu widows. Suddenly Kalyani's resistance to being ferried across the waters by Madhumati's pimp makes sense. Not only has Madhumati lost a source of income, but also the disgrace of a widow's re-marriage will doom them all to seven lifetimes of being re-born as jackals. Madhumati menacingly enters Kalyani's isolated hovel, throws her to the floor, shears her long black hair, and locks her up until she 'comes to her senses'. Shakuntala, over the protests of the other widows, unlocks the door to Kalyani's room. It's a quiet act of rebellion that leaves everyone speechless.
A liberated Kalyani walks out of the house, Madhumati's booming voice following her. Kalyani bathes in the ghats, and walks to the small deserted temple where Narayan is waiting for her. Narayan fingers her shorn hair and asks her in a whisper once again if she will marry him. Narayan takes Kalyani to his parents' house, but upon reaching his father's home, Kalyani begins to recognize the gates of the portico and asks Narayan for the full name of his father. He replies but is perplexed when Kalyani demands that he turn the boat around.
It is revealed that it is Narayan's father who had used Kalyani as a prostitute and Kalyani drowns herself in grief. She is replaced by Chuyia as the prostitute for Narayan's father. In a state of despair, Narayan leaves his father's house to join Mahatma Gandhi (Mohan Jhangiani, actor;Zul Vilani, voice). As he is leaving on the train, Shakuntala gives him Chuyia pleading with him to put her under the care of Gandhi.
[edit] Credits
The cast of Water [1]:
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Lisa Ray | Kalyani |
| Sarala | Chuyia |
| Seema Biswas | Shakuntala |
| John Abraham | Narayan |
| Manorama [2] | Madhumati |
| Waheeda Rehman | Bhagavati (Narayan's Mother) |
| Kulbhushan Kharbanda | Sadananda |
| Raghuvir Yadav | Gulabi |
| Vidula Javalgekar | Patiraji aka "Auntie" |
| Vinay Pathak | Ravindra |
| Rishma Malik | Snehalata |
| Mohan Jhangiani | Mahatma Gandhi |
| Zul Vilani | Gandhi's Voice |
| Meera Biswas | Gyanvati |
| Gerson Da Cunha | Seth Dwarkanath |
| Rinsly Weerarathne | Chuyia's Husband |
[edit] Crew
- Director: Deepa Mehta
- Screenplay: Deepa Mehta
- Story: Deepa Mehta
- Producer: David Hamilton
- Music: Mychael Danna and A. R. Rahman
- Cinematography: Giles Nuttgens
- Casting:Uma Da Cunha
- Editing: Colin Monie
- Art Direction:Pradip Redij
- Costumes: Dolly Ahluwalia
[edit] Awards
- 2006, Genie Award for Best Actress, Seema Biswas [2]
- 2006, Golden Kinnaree Award at Bangkok International Film Festival for Best Film [3]
[edit] Music
The music in the film was composed by A. R. Rahman and Mychael Danna. The songs were composed by A. R. Rahman whilst the background score was composed by Mychael Danna. A.R.Rahman has rated this as his only album which he would give a 10/10. The album has 20 songs in total, 15 Instrumental pieces by Mychael Danna and 5 Hindi songs composed by A.R. Rahman with lyrics by Sukhwinder Singh [4] . The soundtrack was released by international label, Varèse Sarabande. Due to some problems with this movie in India, the Audio CD clearly states that the CD is not to be sold in India and Pakistan.
[edit] Track listing
- House Of Widows - 5:19
- Chuyia Explores - 1:42
- Where Is She? - 0:58
- Chan Chan** - 5:16
- Kaalu - 2:28
- Can't Go Home - 1:11
- Piya Ho** - 6:02
- Ladoo Dreams - 1:11
- Funeral - 0:59
- Carriage - 2:06
- Fatty - 0:52
- Naina Neer Bahai** - 4:58
- Kalyani Leaves - 2:21
- Shyam Rang Me** - 5:10
- Turn The Boat Around - 1:33
- Walk Into River - 2:55
- Chuyia Is Gone - 2:35
- Vaishnava Jana To** - 3:03
- Train - 3:28
- Across The River - 5:35
- ** Songs by A. R. Rahman
- ** Lyrics by Sukhwinder Singh
[edit] Release dates
| Region | Release date | Festival or Distributor |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | September 8, 2005 | Mongrel Media |
| U.S.A | October 2, 2005 | South Asian Literary and Theater Arts Festival |
| Spain | October 2, 2005 | Valladolid International Film Festival |
| Canada | November 4, 2005 | |
| Australia | April 13, 2006 | Dendy Films |
| U.S.A | April 19, 2006 | Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles |
| U.S.A | April 26, 2006 | Indianapolis International Film Festival |
| U.S.A | April 28, 2006 | Fox Searchlight Pictures |
| Switzerland | August 15, 2006 | Filmcoopi Zurich AG |
| India | TBA 2006 | B.R. Films [5] |
The film debuted on September 8, 2005 at the Toronto International Film Festival and opened in other theatres at the dates given above. After several controversies surrounding the film in India, the Indian censor boards cleared the film with a "U" certificate. It will be released in India by filmmaker Ravi Chopra under the banner of B.R. Films in late 2006.
[edit] Controversy
Deepa Mehta's earlier film Fire had already attracted hostility from some people in the Hindu community who objected to her subject matter and had organized attacks on cinemas that screened the film. The objection was against using the name of prominent Goddesses from the Hindu religion as the name of the lesbian heriones of the film [citation needed]. The resulting tensions meant that Mehta struggled for many years to make Water and was eventually forced to make it outside India.
Mehta originally intended to direct Water in February, 2000, with a different cast that included Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das and Akshay Kumar. The day before filming was due to begin, the crew was informed that there were complications with gaining location permits. The following day, they learned that 2,000 protesters had stormed the ghats, destroying the main film set, burning and throwing it into the Ganges in protest at the film's criticism of Hindu rites. Mehta eventually gave up on making the film in India and shot the film secretly with a different cast in Sri Lanka, under the title River Moon in 2003. The film was finally completed and debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2005.
The struggle to make the film was detailed in a non-fiction book, Shooting Water: A Mother-Daughter Journey and the Making of the Film, written by Mehta's daughter, Devyani Satlzman (whose father is Canadian producer and director Paul Saltzman). [6]
In addition, according to Playback Magazine:
- Mehta is battling the accusation that she lifted her script from the novel Sei Samaya. The award-winning book by acclaimed Bengali writer Sunil Gangopadhyay - which goes under the title Those Days in English - like Water, also deals with the "child widow" phenomenon that has plagued India for centuries.The charges were first made by Hindu extremists angered by the touchy subject matter and who attacked and burned the Water set in the holy city of Varanasi, causing over $600,000 worth of damage. Production was shut down until last year, when Mehta secretly finished the movie in nearby Sri Lanka. Mehta answered the accusations with a lawsuit against Gangopadhyaya, publisher Badal Basu, English translator Aruna Chakravarty and editor Anuradha Dutta, who went along with the plagiarism accusations. [7]
The issue was eventually settled out of court. [8]
[edit] Novel
Author Bapsi Sidhwa wrote the 2006 novel based upon the film, Water: A Novel, published by Milkweed Press. Sidhwa's earlier novel, Cracking India was the basis for Earth, the second film in the trilogy.
[edit] Trivia
- In the film, all the characters speak in Hindi. However, eight-year-old Sarala, a Sri Lankan who played Chuyia, did not know Hindi, and therefore had to commit all her lines to memory without knowing what they meant.
- Even though the movie is in Hindi, it is the entry from Canada in the best foreign language film category at the 2007 edition of the Academy Awards. [9]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ "Water is Canada's Oscar entry", rediff.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-06.
- ^ Utpal Borpujari (2005). Seema Biswas wins top Canadian film award for Water. Deccan Herald. Retrieved on 23 March 2006.
- ^ Patrick Frater (2006). Water' sweeps over Bangkok fest. Variety. Retrieved on 23 March 2006.
- ^ Varèse Sarabande Records (2005). Varèse Sarabande Product Details - Water. Varèse Sarabande. Retrieved on 22 March 2006.
- ^ IndiaFM News Bureau (2006). Ravi Chopra to market Water in India. IndiaFM. Retrieved on 14 July 2006.
- ^ JASMINE YUEN-CARRUCAN. The Politics of Deepa Mehta's Water. Retrieved on 8 May 2006.
- ^ Marc Glassman (2005). Lawsuit won't block Water. Playback Magazine. Retrieved on 8 May 2006.
- ^ Deepa Mehta to settle plagiarism case. rediff.com. Retrieved on 22 October 2006.
- ^ "Water is Canada's Oscar entry", rediff.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-06.
