Kaveetaa Kaul
There are films that entertain you and then there is a film like ‘Water’ by Deepa Mehta which moves you and shames you at once, for belonging to an ethos which conforms to the barabarities portrayed via the story of widows, perhaps sequestering,therefore further criminalised , ages ranging from eight to eighty.
There maybe no answers, but should that hinder us from questioning? Especially in the darkened hall where you are spared looking at another Indian, in the eye. Should we hide these truths about India as we would our personal crimes?
In 2000 when the film had created a stir in the media and in Varanasi where it had caused a few Hindu fundamentalist groups to abort the shooting, one was confused as to whether our loyalties lay with our cultural lineage or freedom of expression which considered the same an anathema.
The politicos had their sway and Deepa was forced to relent. She left the country ironically with a bound script, approved by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, but without a single shot canned. (more…)
Sachiniti 