Romancing widows
Meenakshi Shedde reviews Deepa MehtaÂs WaterÂa moving film that still smacks of
Orientalism
Daily News and Analysis
Water, the last of Deepa MehtaÂs trilogy, following Fire (1996) and Earth
(1998), is a relative
relief after her awful Bollywood/Hollywood. Shot in Sri Lanka after Hindu
fundamentalists
prevented her from filming it in Benares in 2000, the film was shown at the
recent Pusan Film
Festival in South Korea.
The trilogy takes on the more insidious aspects of Hinduism, and one wonders
why, after
exploring FireÂs lesbian relationship in a contemporary setting, and Partition
in 1947, Mehta
sets a story about the exploitation of Hindu widows not in todayÂs times, but
in 1938. It seems
more of a ploy to bring in Gandhi and period ambience (post-Dhoom macho biker
John Abraham as
Narayan, a Gandhian in dhoti-kurta and chappals). Chinese directors making
provocative films
often set them in earlier eras to weasel past the censors: is Mehta attempting
the same?
Fire was more gutsy and honest. Water, by placing those suffering widows in
highly romantic
riverine settingsÂall spreading banyan tree, inky blue nights and radiant
moonÂsomehow smacks
of Orientalism, exoticising exploitation.
The story is of a small girl Chuyia (Sarala), who is married, widowed and
dumped at a widowsÂ
ashram. The resident widows include Shakuntala (Seema Biswas) and Kalyani (Lisa
Ray) , who is
forced to service rich clients. Narayan, who sees her visit his home, says,
ÂSheÂs probably
going to my dad.ÂÂ Nonetheless he falls in love with her and wants to marry her.
However, when they are about to marry, Kalyani commits suicide because,
apparently, she didnÂt
know she was servicing his dadÂand neither did he. This is all a bit thick,
causing the heart
of the film to collapse.
When Gandhi leaves on a train, Shakuntala entrusts Chuyia to his care: she
herself stays back,
before turning to face the viewer in a deeply moving climax. The actors in the
smaller roles
are infinitely superior to the lead pair. Lisa Ray can barely act, but she does
have a luminous
grace. Abraham is so wooden, the flute he plays is more eloquent. Biswas saves
the film with a
finely etched performance, while Raghuvir Yadav as a eunuch-pimp, Vidula
Javalgekar as the
madam and Sarala bring a robust edge. The filmÂs biggest asset is Giles
Nuttgens wonderfully
lyrical, empathetic cinematography (Fire, Earth). And A R RahmanÂs songs are
soul-stirring,
including Ayo re sakhi and Piya ho.
Like Bandit Queen, Water opens with ManuÂs nasty laws about widows, and ends
stating that there
are 34 million Indian widows today, many living like those in the film. As with
Mira NairÂs
Salaam BombayÂa superb filmÂthe feeling that Mehta is exploiting the subject
for the West
lingers.
"We neglect our cities at our peril. For, in neglecting them, we neglect the
nation."
-John F. Kennedy
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