Postcolonial Film Series 2

WATER, Deepa Mehta (Canada, 2006)

Cinephile social activist Mehta has always been a controversial film-maker, with Water being no different. Initially shot with a different cast in 2000, production was halted in the holy city of Benares, India when Hindu fundamentalists took umbrage to the subject matter. Fast forward to 2004 and Mehta shot the film under veil in Sri Lanka under the pseudonym ‘River Moon’. The end product amply supports her decision to complete her film. Intended as the final part in Mehta's trilogy that began with Fire (1996), notorious as India’s first film depicting lesbianism, and followed by Earth (1998), which looked at events leading up to the partition of India in 1947. The common thread within the trilogy seems to be that of oppression, differences and equal rights, be they based on sexuality (Fire), communalism (Earth) or gender (Water). All also subjectively told from a woman's point of view.