For Five Years, Extremist Groups Waged A Campaign of Death Threats, Arson and Riots To Stop The Production of “Water.” But The Filmmakers Were Not To Be Silenced.|Sep. 08, 2005|Canada | India|115 Min.|PG-13
Genre: Bollywood;Drama;Romance
Description: The film “Water,” released in 2005, is set in 1938 during British colonial rule in India. At that time, child marriage was a common practice, and widows were relegated to a marginalized position in society.
The story revolves around Chuyia, an eight-year-old girl whose husband dies suddenly. Following the traditions of widowhood, she is forced to wear a white sari, her head is shaved, and she is sent to an ashram to live a life of renunciation. The ashram is a dilapidated home to fourteen other widows, who are there to atone for their supposed bad karma and to relieve their families of the financial and emotional burden of caring for them.
The ashram is governed by Madhumati, a domineering woman in her 70s, who is supported by Gulabi, a hijra who supplies her with cannabis and helps manage the ashram’s side business of prostituting Kalyani, a young and beautiful widow. Kalyani, forced into prostitution as a teenager, is ferried across the Ganges to meet clients.
Shakuntala, another widow in the ashram, is sharp-witted, literate, and deeply conflicted. Torn between her devout Hindu beliefs and her resentment of her fate as a widow, she seeks guidance from a priest, Sadananda, who opens her eyes to the injustices she endures. Over time, Shakuntala forms a bond with Chuyia, who clings to the hope that her mother will return to take her away.
Chuyia befriends Kalyani and observes her developing relationship with Narayan, an upper-class follower of Mahatma Gandhi. Despite her initial hesitation, Kalyani eventually embraces Narayan’s vision of a new life together in Calcutta, agreeing to leave the ashram with him.
“Water” explores themes of tradition, oppression, and the struggle for personal freedom, offering a poignant critique of societal norms in colonial India.
Cast director: Deepa Mehta
Cast actor: Lisa Ray, Sarala, John Abraham, Seema Biswas, Waheeda Rehman, Vinay Pathak, Rishma Malik Scott, Manorama, Raghubir Yadav, Gerson Da Cunha
Original name: Water