Water (2005/I)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Deepa Mehta

Writers:

Anurag Kashyap (dialogue)
Deepa Mehta (writer)

Release Date:

28 April 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

The film examines the plight of a group of widows forced into poverty at a temple in the holy city of Varanasi. It focuses on a relationship between one of the widows, who wants to escape the social restrictions imposed on widows, and a man who is from the highest caste and a follower of Mahatma Gandhi.

Plot Keywords:

Widow | India | Love | Mahatma Gandhi | Hindu

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 10 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Sarala	...	Chuyia
Buddhi Wickrama	...	Baba
Rinsly Weerarathne	...	Chuyia's Husband
Iranganie Serasinghe	...	Mother in Law (as Iranganee Serasinghe)
Hermantha Gamage	...	Barber
Ronica Sajnani	...	Kunti
Manorama	...	Madhumati (as Manorma)
Rishma Malik	...	Snehalata
Meera Biswas	...	Gyanvati
Vidula Javalgekar	...	Patiraji aka Auntie (as Dr. Vidula Javalgekar)
Seema Biswas	...	Shakuntala
Lisa Ray	...	Kalyani
Sanoja Bibile	...	Woman Bather
Dolly Ahluwalia	...	Upset Woman (as Dolly Ahluwalia Tewari)
John Abraham	...	Narayan

Also Known As:

River Moon (Canada: English title) (fake working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material involving sexual situations, and for brief drug use.

Runtime:

USA:117 min | Canada:114 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | Argentina:117 min

Country:

Canada | India

Language:

Hindi

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | Australia:M | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:NC-16 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Germany:12 | New Zealand:M | India:U | Norway:A | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Central Province, Sri Lanka

Company:

Deepa Mehta Films

Trivia:

For the role of Chuyia, Mehta auditioned 50 girls.

Goofs:

Continuity: Kalyani's dog appears older in the scene in which it escapes than the next time it is shown.

Quotes:

[from trailer]
Narayana: All the old traditions are dying out.
Kalyani: But what is good should not die out.
Narayana: And who will decide what is good and what is not?
Kalyani: You!

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 79th Annual Academy Awards (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Chan Chan

A symbolic masterpiece.

I just wanted to say that the symbolism of water in this movie was incredible. There was rain and rivers as well as drinking water. You could really specify that it was in terms to purify the characters and wash away negativities that they had lived through. Water was really a wonderful movie by my favorite director of all time, Deepa Mehta. She is honestly brilliant and I was amazed by the beauty and cinematography of this movie. It surpassed that of any other movie shes done and it shows. However, I believe that Deepa Mehta really drew a lot of lines in the script because it was not her familiar work. Her first movie in the trilogy, Fire, was very controversial because she did not censor it at all. You can really tell that she took out some parts from fear of the idiotic fundamentalists and political parties. Though she did that, it still had a meaninful moral that was gracious and the entire movie really was a refreshing burst of water.