Water was nominated in the Best Foreign Film category at the Oscars and though it did not win the much coveted award, it received due credit and recognition as a substantial film. Water is Deepa Mehta’s third film in her trilogy consisting of Earth, Fire and Water and the film is based on the plight of widows in the 1930’s.Deepa’s film has witnessed many upheavels during its making, political and religious fundamentalists shut down her film in Banaras in India as they felt it insulted their culture and religion.
Deepa then had to shoot her film in Sri Lanka with a fresh cast and crew and though the film has released over a year back worldwide, it is releasing only now in India.Water depicts the pilght of young girls who are widowed and who are then rehabilitated in an isloated asharam.But here too they have to undergo several trials and tribulations to earn their livelihood and they have no choice but to succumb to the pressures as society has shunned them for no fault of theirs.
Though society may have changed with times, Deepa has successfully and sensitively managed to depict the evils of a society plagued by ignorance, she has used her protagonists to portray the sad plight of a segment of women during earlier times.However emotions and relatinships are depicted with a great understanding and maturity by Deepa.The set up, costumes and simple storyline make the film noteworthy and poignant.Water manages to deeply touch one’s emotions and hence it is definitely a good film.
Deepa Mehta has written and directed Water.The star cast consists of John Abraham(Narayan), Lisa Ray(Kalyani), Seema Biswas(Shakuntala), Sarala(Chuyia), Raghuveer Yadav(Gulabi), Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Vinay Pathak, Waheeda Rehman, Manorama etc.The music has been composed by A R Rahman and the film belongs to the social genre.
The film is set during the pre-independance era and the rise of Gandhi as a national hero and his various methods of fighting for the nation form the background of this story.The film is seen through the eyes of the child widow Chuyia who enters the widows ashram set on the banks of the Ganga. The ashram is run by Madhumati and her aide Gulabi, however the widow’s ashram is a front for her illegal prostitution racket.Madhumati supplies these young and helpless widows to the elite and upper class men of society.Narayan(John)is an idealist and a Gandhian who has been born and bred in a rich upper class family.He and Kalayani(Lisa) a widow in the ashram strike a bond which gradually emerges into love.
Chuyia and Shakuntala too are inmates of the ashram, while Shakuntala is a widow who has accepted her fate and destiny, little Chuyia is the one who poses questions and makes the other widows in the ashram too think about their plight.
When Madhumati learns of Narayan and Kalyani’s love for each other, she is outraged and considers it an evil sin.Society too does not accept their relationship, but Kalyani deides to fight this evil system and Narayan too goes against society and his family.Unfortunately their love story is not meant to be and ends on a tragic note after some truths about the reasons for Kalyani’s plight are revealed.The end for Kalyani and their love is tragic.This act leads several widows in the ashram to take a bold step and they decide to save the little widow Chuyia from the cruel fate and destiny that society has condemned her to.
Deepa has portrayed several emotional moments which touch a chord, like the little Chuyia coming to the ashram and the fate awaiting her, the pure romantic love story between Narayan and Kalyani etc.Although the storyline is simple at first, there are various twists and turns like the truth about Kalyani’s plight that shakes the audience up and also the tragic shocking end.The climax is noteworthy and heart wrenching.Relationships are depicted with extreme honesty, the relationship between Shakuntala and Chuyia is poignant.Little Chuyia’s questions about women and widowhood stirs one’s emotions as it seems so honest and childlike.
Although the film is only two hours long, the pace is extremely slow and the story creeps forward very slowly.Also it seems hard to understand all the stereotypes depicted in the film as it is set in an earlier time period.Even the unusual pairing of John and Lisa is unusual and not completely convincing. Nonetheless the plight and evils clearly come across to the viewers.
Deepa’s execution is simple but it is lifted by Nuttgens cinematography which manages to recreate the charm of an earlier era with precision, the green locales of Sri lanka have been captured in a magical canvas, the music by A R Rahman and even the background score by Mychael Danna are inspiring.The costumes add an aspect of realism and the dialogues are simple but powerful.Performances too are extremely noteworthy.John Abraham delivers a good performance as Narayan, Lisa Ray too gives a fairly good portrayal of the widowed Kalyani.Seema Biswas as Shakuntala is brilliant and makes an impact even in her simple and understated role.Sarala as the little Chuyia is an absolute delight with her enthusiasm and energy.Manorama too gives an adept performance and the rest of the cast too are extremely able in their character roles.
Water has a simple storyline and the execution too is simple but it is the small details like set up, costumes, cinematography, music which enhance it greatly.Also the sincerity and honesty with which Deepa unfolds her story clearly comes across.At the box-office the film will cater strictly to an intellectual audience.Nonethless the film is definitely worth a watch.