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Water

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"Water" is the third film in writer/director Deepa Mehta's elemental trilogy, following "Fire" and "Earth". It explores the plight of widows in traditional Hindu culture, where women are condemned to a grim, rudimentary existence after their husbands die. Driven by characters as much as by its cause, this is not a bleak film. On the contrary, "Water" is breathtakingly beautiful. In India in 1938, young Chuyia (Sarala) is widowed at the age of 8. By religious law, when a man dies, his wife may either be cremated with him, marry his brother, or live the life of an ascetic -chaste, poor, and pious. Chuyia's head is shaved, her jewelry removed, and she is sent to live in an ashram with other widows of all ages. She is befriended by a pretty widow named Kalyani (Lisa Ray), watched over by the devout and generous Shakuntula (Seema Biswas), and often at odds with the ashram's callous matriarch Madhumati (Manorama), who pays the rent by prostituting Kalyani. A handsome law student with progressive politics, Narayan (John Abraham), is smitten by Kalyani. But it is sinful for widows to remarry, and Kalyani is a prostitute besides.

The story of making "Water" is a drama in itself. Filming in India in 2000 was shut down by violent protests by religious fundamentalists, who believed the film was anti-Hindu. Deepa Mehta's view is that a misinterpretation of religious texts has perpetuated the dreadful state of widows in Indian culture, which is actually the result of economics. If a widow is sent away upon the death of her husband, her own family does not have to pay to feed or house her, and her would-be inheritance remains in her husband's family. In any case, there were riots, Deepa Mehta was burned in effigy, and the film's sets were thrown into the river. Four years later, the film was recast and the production moved to Sri Lanka, where filming began again. All of the temples and buildings that you see are sets by production designer Dilip Mehta. Sarala, who plays Chuyia, is Sri Lankan and does not speak a word of Hindi. She learned all of her lines phonetically. Somehow that doesn't even seem odd amid this international cast and creative crew.

Giles Nuttgens' cinematography is a force in this film. Everything appears so alive and luminous that I wanted to step into this world to be bathed in its beautiful light and touch its delicate features. The light has a striking purity. The film's score by Canadian Mychael Danna and songs by Indian composer A.R. Rahman are an ideal auditory accompaniment to "Water"'s visual splendor. Although it focuses our attention on the plight of widows in India, "Water" is not a realistic film on the narrative level. Kalyani and Narayan are idealized characters. She is pure, lovely, and suffering. He educated, and socially progressive. To Narayan, Kalyani is a romantic figure, a fragile, innocent soul in need of rescuing. The idea that a wealthy, educated man would want to marry an illiterate peasant prostitute who will never understand his causes or his world view seems far-fetched. But Kalyani's reticence and Narayan's sensitivity draw us in. Narayan is a change of pace for John Abraham, who is an Indian supermodel and Bollywood star. Lisa Ray is Canadian, also a supermodel in India, but Hindi is not her first language. Director Deepa Mehta has a real talent for casting the perfect actors from seemingly unlikely choices.

For all of Kalyani and Narayan's beauty and sympathy, "Water" is not their film. Shakuntula is the character who has an arc, and Seema Biswas gives the film's great performance. She personifies the conflict between conscience and faith that is at "Water"'s core. (You many remember Seema Biswas from her lead role in "Bandit Queen".) Manorama, who has acted in an extraordinary 1301 movies, is memorably sharp as the matriarch Madhumati. Professor of Hindi literature Dr. Vidula Javalgekar plays the kindly, sweet-toothed, elderly widow Patiraji, a woman who must be very unlike herself. "Water" is simply a gorgeous sensory experience that movie-lovers won't want to miss. In Hindi (and some Sanskrit) with English or Spanish subtitles or English captions.

The DVD (20th Century Fox 2006): "Behind the Scenes" (20 min) includes interviews with writer/director Deepa Mehta and the cast. Mehta talks about the controversy surrounding the film and its themes. The actors discuss Mehta's directing style, mastering the period mannerisms, and their characters. "The Story Behind the Making of Water" (4 min) is about the controversy and the ill-fated first attempt to film "Water". There is a good, continuous audio commentary by Deepa Mehta in which discusses the sets, actors, character development, cinematography and lighting, the film's score, and provides additional information about Indian culture.

When I was in film school, I remember a professor showing an Indian film called "Panther Panchali". Despite the terrible print, I could see director Satyajit Ray was an artist. "Panchali" is a beautiful film about a poor Indian family living through the monsoon season. I then went on to discover some of his other films. A couple of years ago, Merchant Ivory hosted a retrospective of Ray's films and these restored prints are available on DVD. You are depriving yourself if you do not watch these films.

As I watched "Water", the new film from director Deepa Mehta, I was constantly reminded of Ray's films. The composition, pacing, subject matter and acting style are all the same.

Chuyia (Ronica Sajnani Sarala), a seven year old girl, finds she has become a widow; her arranged husband has died leaving her adrift in a society that favors men. Religious law dictates if she lives a chaste life she will join her husband in heaven. Of course, she doesn't know or understand any of this when her family takes her to a home, to live with other widows. She soon meets the matriarch of the house, Sadananda (Kulbhushan Kharbanda), a fat woman who eats the most food, Shakuntala (Seema Biswas), a bitter woman who shows some compassion to Chuyia and Kalyani (Lisa Ray), a young woman who is allowed to grow her hair out and meet `clients' to help support the house. Soon, Chuyia meets Narayana (John Abraham), a bachelor from a rich family who is instantly attracted to Kalyani. As their relationship grows, there are murmurs of Gandhi leading the Indian people to independence from Britain.

Deepa Mehta has crafted a beautiful film depicting a sad reality in India's history. As one character states, families used this religious practice to free themselves of a financial burden and another mouth to feed. In this belief, there are three ways of dealing with a widow; marry her to a younger brother of the deceased male, have her join her husband on the funeral pyre, or banish her to a house to live with other widows until she dies and rejoins her husband in Heaven. Of course, if a wife dies, the husband is free, encouraged to remarry. After Mehta establishes the details of this practice, she introduces us to the main characters, the people who will inhabit the story we are about to watch. There are people from every generation in this house; "Auntie" is an elderly widow who still dreams of the sweets she had at her wedding, when she was seven, Sadananda seems to be a gang leader, or pimp, sending Kalyani out to meet married men, to help support the house and her eating habits. Sadly, every generation is represented.

The growing relationship between Kalyani and Narayana is very believable and touching. Indian tradition and the difficulties of Kalyani's position dictate they must behave in a certain way. But Narayana is a modern Indian man and he soon tells his mother he and Kalyani will be married. When his mother finds out his intended bride is a widow, she is shocked and won't allow it. But Narayana has no doubt that he will wed his lover, all it takes is some convincing.

As the story moves towards its emotional climax, Shakuntala becomes the voice of reason. She helps Kalyani get out of the house to meet her lover and eventually helps other members of the house.

Mehta composes every shot with a painter's eye. Vivid colors poke out throughout every frame, colors so bright they appear to be painted on the screen. As we watch these characters struggle to live in the house, they make infrequent trips outside to bathe, walk, and experience. Inside the house, everyone wears a sari made of the same natural cloth and everything is rather drab. But as they explore the neighboring community, we see women wearing bright saris, vivid flowers and bright gold, copper and silver. The difference between the two worlds is very noticeable and helps to contrast the living conditions of the two different groups.

Ray used the same attention to detail in his films creating beautiful compositions in black and white.

Both filmmakers chose similar subject matter. Like Ray before her, Mehta has chosen a fairly simple, straight forward story. Because the story doesn't have a lot of distractions, it allows you to concentrate on the characters and give them your attention. The actors provide vivid, interesting portrayals that compliment the story.

"Water" is a very good film. Search it out and you will be rewarded.

"Water" is a beautiful, tragic, sad, emotionally available film about the deplorable situation in India in regards to its many millions of widows: who are segregated into Ashrams, forced to beg in the street, some into prostitution to support the Ashram and are viewed as if not Untouchable...then unavailable for remarriage.
"Water" focuses on the beautiful very young, as in 9 years old, Chuyia (Sarala), Kalayani (Lisa Ray), both widows and Narayana (John Abraham): a young Ghandhi follower in love with Kalayani.
The time is 1938, India is in social, political and religious upheaval but director Deepa Mehta uses this as only a backdrop for her very personal and tragic story. At times, though her agenda is without a doubt important, Mehta's approach is too overwrought, too heavy-handed. But her film is so gorgeous and her mise en scene so much about the cleansing qualities of color: turquoises, lemon yellows, scarlet reds, lime greens...that most of this didactic quality can be forgiven.
Water can cleanse, Water can heal, Water brings forth life and renewal and "Water" is full of these images but it is also about Hope for the future and Redemption through the restorative power of Love.

A film of jaw-jopping beauty and deeply held poetical lyricism, Deepa Mehta's spectacular Water - the final installment of her devastatingly beautiful Indian trilogy - is a film of overwhelming tragedy, a gorgeous homage to the country of her birth and a real testament to the resilience of her people's spirit.

Steeping her story in Indian spirituality, Mehta sets her atmospheric film in 1938 Colonial India during Gandhi's rise to power. Times are changing for this country that for so long now has only known British rule. New laws are being passed and the young - particularly the men - are gradually opening to the new ways and becoming more liberal minded.

Change, however, seems far from the young Chuyia (Sarala) when her father drops her at an ashram for widows. A child bride and married for economic reasons, her much older husband unexpectedly died. Now considered a financial burden by her family she is sent to a house where she is forced to live a life of rigorous penitence and is never allowed to remarry.

Here she meets the Madame of the house Madhumati (Manorma), a hugely fat and authoritarian woman in her mid-70s, who runs the house like a nazi, lauding it over all the other women. Of course, Chuyia has a hard time adjusting to this new life of singing religious hymns every day, wearing only white and begging on the streets for money.

People avoid them like the plague; many Hindus believe that if they bump into a widow, they will be polluted and must do rituals of purification. Chuyia doesn't really understand any of this, but she has a sharp tongue and her rebellious instincts upset the other widows who reside in this decrepit two-story dwelling built around a court and overlooking the river, most probably the Ganges.

Soon the child befriends Shakuntala (Seema Biswas), a kindly woman who struggles to calm the girl down even as she herself struggles with issues of faith and self-worth. But it is to the young and beautiful widow Kalyani (Lisa Ray), whom Chuyia is most drawn to.

Through Chuyia, Kalyani meets Narayan (John Abraham), a law student and Gandhi nationalist who is from a wealthy Indian family is an ardent believer in the civil disobedience campaign of Mahatma Gandhi. Narayan falls in love with Kalyani and their romance plays out against the backdrop of the rainwater and the sacred water of the Ganges where people bath, do rituals, and send the ashes of the dead.

Narayan promises to take Kalyani away and marry her, but the ancient Indian faith is very firm about widows remarrying. And although a new law has recently been passed - supported by Gandhi - the men who still have the power are intent to ignore laws that cause inconvenience to them.

Mehta totally steeps her film in the social and political - and even religious - ramifications of the day, with Gandhi - and the promise of reform always in the background. This leader has begun to speak against the harsh treatment of women and the caste system, angering Hindu fundamentalists. But to the widows and other outcasts, he is a guiding light and a symbol of hope.

Lush and full of atmosphere, Water contains some of the most unforgettable images of startling beauty. Indeed the calm magnificence and spirituality of the landscape - the constant ebb and flow of the water - makes a violent contrast to the oppression these widows must face, all in the name of religion.

The impact is devastating and to think that these women, are even today, forced to follow chauvinistic religious rules that were put in place thousands of years ago by texts that are still treated as revered and sacred. Mike Leonard August 06.

You really should view Mehta's three films that make up the trilogy in order. With Earth she covers the carnage, brutality and massacres of the Indian civil war that broke out at the state of Independence from Britain. Fire covers sexual politics and is an incredibly brave film which is taboo shattering for Indian audiences. With "Water" Mehta has created a masterpiece. You cannot sit and watch this film without feeling the pain of the discarded Hindu widows. The little child that does not even know she has been married is forced into a secluded and highly restrictive life, made to feel little higher in society than a leper. Looked down upon by other Hindus with a disdain that is imbued with hatred, these poor women must fend for themselves till death.

Of course Mehta is outraged that India remains so hidebound to traditions that are anti-life. This movie caused a sensation in India when she tried to film it there. At the outset she had been given permission, the script had been vetted, the actors selected, sets built. Then came the backlash of vile innuendo spread by the BJP in the press. Not knowing any better, people gathered at the film set, protested and then trashed the set, causing a distraught and shocked Mehta to exit India. The film remained on the shelf, she did more films and then miraculously raised the budget all over again; this time removed to Sri Lanka with a new cast.

What is miraculous is that looked at now the film seems to be perfect and could not have been improved upon had it been shot earlier. The cast completely shines from top to bottom. The young girl chosen to play the child widow was a Sri Lankan and Hindi was not a language she knew. Instead of shirking from this, Mehta worked with her and the little girl spoke her lines phonetically; as a non-Hindi speaker I could not have detected anything. She is a perfectly natural actress and her portrayal is very powerful.

This is a very heartbreaking film and you simply cannot see it without feeling grief and yet at the very end, hope. As of early 2007 the film has yet to play in India although I hear that plans for it's premier are for later this year. I'll believe it when I read of it. This film holds certain Hindu traditions up to severe scrutiny and the image will make millions in India very uncomfortable. It should. A tremendous achievement.

This sad statement is the core of the film's message about the reason for the sequestration of widows from Indian society. The Hindu religion states that a woman is half her husband and when she becomes a widow (no matter the age - many children are married to very old men) she must live a chaste life without the joys of the world, becoming a virtual begging outcast. But despite this 'religious' reason for sending the thousands of widows into seclusion in the city of Varanasi, the apparent true reason is to not have them take up space and money in the homes of the deceased!

WATER is Deepa Mehta's masterpiece of writing and directing, creating a film of such extraordinary beauty and sensitivity despite all plots to keep her from turning her 'anti-Hindu' story into a movie for public consumption. Years of frustration preceded the final product, a film that had to be shot in Sri Lanka to avoid the crowds of protestors in Mehta's beloved India. The story is simple yet profound: Chuyia (Sarala) is an 8-year old girl married to an elderly man in an event she doesn't even remember. But as a new widow her father takes her to an ashram in Varanasi where her head is shaved and she wears a colorless sari and must live with the other outcast widows. She is befriended by the religious and kind Shakuntala (Seema Biswas) who attempts to protect her from the forces that make life difficult and by Kalyani (the stunning model turned fine actress Lisa Ray) who befriends her, shares her puppy and her secrets, and in the end helps Chuyia understand the injustices of the custom of isolating widows. Kalyani is 'farmed out' by eunuch procurer Galabi (Raghuvir Yadav) to keep her humanness alive. But a handsome commoner and follower of Gandhi (the year is 1938), Narayan (John Abraham), is struck by both Chuyia and Kalyani and falls in love with Kalyani, a love that is never to be realized in marriage for reasons unveiled in the story. At film's end there is a sense of hope for the widows as introduced by the rise of Gandhi and his philosophy and the film's closing is immensely touching.

Mehta knows how to tell her story well and is not only supported by a strong cast but also by a fine production crew: the cinematography by Giles Nuttgens is incandescently moody and gloriously beautiful and the original music by Mychael Danna and A.R. Rahman blends Indian songs with Western orchestral writing in a perfect union that works well with the story. This is one of those films that not only stands alone as a strikingly beautiful creation, but it is also a film that informs us about other cultural patterns about which most of us are ignorant. It is a masterpiece on every level, a film to add to your library along with the other two parts of Mehta's trilogy - Fire and Earth. Grady Harp, September 06

Water is far too powerful and moving to be called a mere film; this is a brave cinematic triumph that illuminates a tragic issue that few in the West know the first thing about - namely, the historical plight of widows in Hindu society. It also has much to say about modern Hindu culture as well, though, as the mistreatment of widows is still a problem in India today - and quite a touchy one, as made clear by the reaction of Hindu fundamentalist groups in India during filming. As I watched the end credits of the film roll, I was a little puzzled as to why the movie was shot in Sri Lanka, but now I have learned that the original production was basically run out of Upper Pradesh, India, because it was attacked as anti-Hindu in nature. It took four years for the filming to be taken up again - this time outside of India, with the two lead roles played by one actress who only spoke Hindi as a second language (Lisa Ray) and another who spoke no Hindi whatsoever before filming began (Sarala). Obviously, the subject matter makes for a most touchy issue; Hinduism is the world's oldest religion, so we're talking about traditions ingrained into much of the population for thousands of years.

I first became fascinated with India a little over a year ago, and I found this film to be nothing short of shocking, exposing a part of Hindu culture I knew nothing about. I knew that widows had to give up their own lives in the funeral pyres of their dead husbands many centuries ago, but I had no idea that widows still gave up the majority of their lives here in the modern day. It is heartening to discover that Gandhi opposed this traditional practice. This great man was about much more than peaceful opposition to British colonialists and the elimination of the caste system - and widows were basically an anonymous cast unto themselves, separated and shunned by society. It's especially tragic to see a young and vibrant life essentially snuffed out by this practice - and it's doubly tragic that so many of these women did not question it, as they had been brought up to believe they deserved to be punished for not dying when their husbands died. It's even more especially tragic when such widows included little girls.

Chuyia (Sarala) is one such girl, widowed at seven years old. She accepts the ritualistic shaving of her head to indicate her widowhood, but she is far too young to understand why her parents abandoned her, leaving her in the care of a group of widows forced to live outside of normal society for the rest of their lives. Initially rebelling against her new position in life, she finds only one kind soul, a beautiful young lady named Kalyani (Lisa Ray). Kalyani lives somewhat apart from her fellow widows; she has a dog (which is forbidden) and she also still has long hair - but only because the dominant widow forces her into prostitution. Kalyani soon meets a young man named Narayan (John Abraham), a modern thinker and follower of Gandhi. They fall in love, and Narayan (to his mother's horror) asks her to marry him. That sets even more dramatic events in motion, leading up to a conclusion that will more than likely have you in tears.

As you may have guessed, this is a pretty depressing film, with a number of very uncomfortable, heart-breaking scenes. Your heart just goes out to so many of these widows, from the outrageously young, such as Chuyia, to the very old (such as Auntie, who has spent the better part of a century dreaming about the sweets she has been unable to taste since the time of her own childhood wedding). Amidst so much hopelessness, however, there is a modicum of hope embodied in one very religious woman (Seema Biswas) who begins to question the values she has always believed in - and in the end there is also Gandhi, who has returned to his native land and just been released from prison by the British (Water is set in 1938).

I really wish I could convey to you the raw power and emotion of this extraordinary film. The story is woven together in a masterly way, evoking almost infinite meaning from so many small incidents and events, and on a surprisingly large number of issues. The cinematography and sparsely effective musical score simply soar, and the performances of the entire cast could not be more impressive. I don't know if I've ever seen a film express so much meaning so effectively. Water is just a magnificent cinematic achievement.

WATER is a rare movie that succeeds in being many things at the same time. It's a love story, and it's political; it has aspects of coming-of-age drama while also exploring the gaps between generations; there is poetry in both language and vision; it feels at times like a fantasy, but one achieved through realism, through the rare opportunity to peer into a world most of us would never have the opportunity to see.

Written and directed by Deepa Mehta, WATER is the third in her "elemental trilogy," having been preceded by EARTH and FIRE. I had seen neither before watching the DVD of WATER, so don't worry, you don't need to know the other stories to know what's happening in this one. You're probably going to want to go back and watch the others just because WATER was so good, though. I know I have put them at the top of my rental queue.

WATER is set in India during the 1930s. Gandhi is starting to gain notoriety and his progressive ideas are sweeping over a nation that has spent too much time under foreign rule. That is merely a backdrop, however, an indication of a larger social milieu. The real story is in an ashram where widows live the remainder of their lives in a state of denial, compelled by Hinduism to abandon the material world at the same time their husbands did. Only, since they are still alive, they have to do so by renouncing their very existence. Heads shaved, allowed only one meal a day, and forbidden from any extended contact with men, they live a meager existence together in their own pocket culture.

The film opens when eight-year-old Chuyia (played by Sarala) is informed that her husband has died. Not even old enough to realize that she had been married, Chuyia is in a state of confusion when she is shuffled off to the widows' ashram. She rebels and fantasizes about escaping. Eventually, she settles in, befriending the beautiful Kalyani (Lisa Ray), who has been forced into prostitution by the rotund ruler of the house, Madhumati (Manorama), in order to provide for the needs of the other widows. Chuyia and Madhumati clash instantly, and it's only thanks to intervention of the calm Shakuntala (Seema Biswas) that the young girl escapes a beating.

The injustice of how the widows live is quite obvious, and Mehta doesn't have to overdo it to make us see her point. She deliberately sets the movie at a time of cultural change in India, because it gives her a convenient platform to illustrate this bizarre situation. The three generations of women--Chuyia, Kalyani, and Shakuntala--represent three tiers of belief. The youngest does not yet know what is in store for her, whereas the older is completely resigned to her fate. It's only the middle woman, Kalyani, who is aware of both sides, and who can temper the hope of the child with the wisdom of age. The handsome and sensitive Narayan represents the progressive mind of India. He is willing to buck his mother's desires for him to marry within his class, smitten as he is with Kalyani. A student of Gandhi, Narayan is also an aficionado of romantic poetry, imagining himself as a warrior in an epic battle for love. He's going to marry Kalyani, and he's not afraid of the consequences.

Naturally, changes of this kind do come with consequences, and none of the women are unaffected. Shakuntala is goes through the deepest transformation, and the fate of the child is placed on her back. All the actors are great, but Biswas has the most work to do. The gradual erosion of her resolve could have been overwrought, but she makes the inner conflict feel real. It's largely down to her that the ending works. Once again, in less capable hands, the final scenes could have been schmaltzy, but Mehta is not interested in a complete triumph. She has written a story where good things happen, but with the appropriate price.

Just as complex as the social issues is Mehta's approach to the various images of water in the movie. She is not content to establish one metaphor for the element, but to look at all of its uses. It might be cleansing and life giving, but it can also take away. It can ferry us to a new life or to our own destruction. The most romantic use of water imagery, however, is when Narayan is alone with Kalyani and he recites a verse about how rain clouds are the messengers of the heavens. Thus, his failure to see an oncoming storm also becomes all the more ironic.

Even if WATER didn't have such an involving story, it would be worth watching just to look at it. Mehta and her director of photography, Giles Nuttgens (YOUNG ADAM), are clearly enamored of India. The city streets are lovingly shot, the details of the people and their surroundings orchestrated down to the smallest detail. This means they also don't shy away from the squalor, which provides an excellent contrast to the gorgeous nature shots. The ones centered around water are particularly beautiful.

WATER isn't just an exceptional movie, but it's also an exceptional DVD. In addition to a commentary by Deepa Mehta, there are two featurettes on the making of the movie. A lot of preparation went into getting the historical and cultural details of the movie correct, but there was also a behind-the-scenes struggle to get the movie made that is just as interesting as the final product. Faced with opposition from religious fundamentalists who misconstrued Mehta's intentions, the production was shut down before it started, and it took Mehta several years to get it going again. When she did, she had to shoot in Sri Lanka instead of India. For a film about the gradual change of religious politics set over sixty years ago, the battle against Water is a grim reminder that we're still faced with such problems today.

What an extraordinary film! I've been to see it 4 times already.. and I insist on taking anyone who questions the credibility of independant films and Indian films to go and see this!!! I was particulary moved when I read of what Deepa had to endure in the making of this film. Death threats, suicide protests, fire, armed guards, changing locations, amending her script... the list goes on.. all to hide the truth.. of what is really still happening in modern day India.. how brave and marvelous of Deepa Mehta to perservere and bring this film to us all.. I am so moved everytime I view it.. and yes.. like the other person below said.. we all sit in silence at the end.. in tears.. Please support Deepa and see her other 2 films which complete this trilogy.. Fire and Earth.. I have purchased them both from amazon.. and they are wonderful.

When I was in film school, I remember a professor showing an Indian film called "Panther Panchali". Despite the terrible print, I could see director Satyajit Ray was an artist. "Panchali" is a beautiful film about a poor Indian family living through the monsoon season. I then went on to discover some of his other films. A couple of years ago, Merchant Ivory hosted a retrospective of Ray's films and these restored prints are available on DVD. You are depriving yourself if you do not watch these films.

As I watched "Water", the new film from director Deepa Mehta, I was constantly reminded of Ray's films. The composition, pacing, subject matter and acting style are all the same.

Chuyia (Ronica Sajnani Sarala), a seven year old girl, finds she has become a widow; her arranged husband has died leaving her adrift in a society that favors men. Religious law dictates if she lives a chaste life she will join her husband in heaven. Of course, she doesn't know or understand any of this when her family takes her to a home, to live with other widows. She soon meets the matriarch of the house, Sadananda (Kulbhushan Kharbanda), a fat woman who eats the most food, Shakuntala (Seema Biswas), a bitter woman who shows some compassion to Chuyia and Kalyani (Lisa Ray), a young woman who is allowed to grow her hair out and meet `clients' to help support the house. Soon, Chuyia meets Narayana (John Abraham), a bachelor from a rich family who is instantly attracted to Kalyani. As their relationship grows, there are murmurs of Gandhi leading the Indian people to independence from Britain.

Deepa Mehta has crafted a beautiful film depicting a sad reality in India's history. As one character states, families used this religious practice to free themselves of a financial burden and another mouth to feed. In this belief, there are three ways of dealing with a widow; marry her to a younger brother of the deceased male, have her join her husband on the funeral pyre, or banish her to a house to live with other widows until she dies and rejoins her husband in Heaven. Of course, if a wife dies, the husband is free, encouraged to remarry. After Mehta establishes the details of this practice, she introduces us to the main characters, the people who will inhabit the story we are about to watch. There are people from every generation in this house; "Auntie" is an elderly widow who still dreams of the sweets she had at her wedding, when she was seven, Sadananda seems to be a gang leader, or pimp, sending Kalyani out to meet married men, to help support the house and her eating habits. Sadly, every generation is represented.

The growing relationship between Kalyani and Narayana is very believable and touching. Indian tradition and the difficulties of Kalyani's position dictate they must behave in a certain way. But Narayana is a modern Indian man and he soon tells his mother he and Kalyani will be married. When his mother finds out his intended bride is a widow, she is shocked and won't allow it. But Narayana has no doubt that he will wed his lover, all it takes is some convincing.

As the story moves towards its emotional climax, Shakuntala becomes the voice of reason. She helps Kalyani get out of the house to meet her lover and eventually helps other members of the house.

Mehta composes every shot with a painter's eye. Vivid colors poke out throughout every frame, colors so bright they appear to be painted on the screen. As we watch these characters struggle to live in the house, they make infrequent trips outside to bathe, walk, and experience. Inside the house, everyone wears a sari made of the same natural cloth and everything is rather drab. But as they explore the neighboring community, we see women wearing bright saris, vivid flowers and bright gold, copper and silver. The difference between the two worlds is very noticeable and helps to contrast the living conditions of the two different groups.

Ray used the same attention to detail in his films creating beautiful compositions in black and white.

Both filmmakers chose similar subject matter. Like Ray before her, Mehta has chosen a fairly simple, straight forward story. Because the story doesn't have a lot of distractions, it allows you to concentrate on the characters and give them your attention. The actors provide vivid, interesting portrayals that compliment the story.

"Water" is a very good film. Search it out and you will be rewarded.