වෝටර් (2005 චිත්‍රපටය)

වෝටර් is a 2005 written and directed by , with screenplay by . It is set in 1938 and explores the lives of at an in , India. The film is also the third and final instalment of Mehta's . It was preceded by (1996) and (1998). Author wrote the 2006 novel based upon the film, , published by Milkweed Press. Sidhwa's earlier novel, was the basis for , the second film in the trilogy. Water is a dark introspect into the tales of rural Indian widows in the 1940s and covers controversial subjects such as misogyny and ostracism. The film premiered at the 2005 , where it was honoured with the Opening Night Gala, and was released across Canada in November of that year. It was first released in India on 9 March 2007.

වෝටර්
චිත්‍රපට පෝස්ටරයක්
අධ්‍යක්‍ෂණය	දීපා මේහ්තා
තිර රචනය
කතාවස්තුව	දීපා මේහ්තා
නිශ්පාදනය
රංගන ශිල්පීන්	සීමා බිස්වාස් සරලා කාරියවසම්
සිනෙමාරූපණය
සංස්කරණය	Colin Monie
සංගීතය	Score: Songs: A. R. Rahman
Production company
බෙදාහැරීම	Pictures (US) (Canada) B.R. Films (India)
නිකුත්වූ දිනය	9 සැප්තැම්බර් 2005 (2005-09-09) (Toronto Film Festival)
තිර කාලය	114 minutes
රටවල්	Canada United States India
භාෂා	Hindi English
ආදායම	$10,422,387

The film stars , , , and in pivotal roles and , , , , and in supporting roles. Featured songs for the film were composed by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics by and Raqeeb Alam. After Rahman quit the film following nationwide controversy associated with the film the background score was composed by . Cinematography is by , who has worked with Deepa Mehta on several of her films.

In 2008, inspired by the film, directed a documentary, about widows in India. The film was also written by Deepa Mehta.

Composer A. R. Rahman opted out of the project following the controversy, following which American composer stepped in to compose the background score. The songs which Rahman had composed before opting out were retained in the film.

Plot

The film is set in 1938 when India was still . was common practice, and widows had a diminished position in society.

Chuyia () is an eight-year-old girl, whose husband suddenly dies. In keeping with traditions of widowhood, she is dressed in a white , her head is shaven and she is left in an , to spend the rest of her life in renunciation. There are fourteen women who live in the dilapidated house, sent there to expiate bad , as well as to relieve their families of the financial and emotional burdens of caring for widows. The ashram is ruled by Madhumati (), a pompous lady in her 70s. Her only friend is the pimp, Gulabi (), a who keeps Madhumati supplied with cannabis. The two also have a side business: Gulabi helps Madhumati prostitute Kalyani (), a beautiful young widow, by ferrying her across to customers. Kalyani was forced into prostitution as a teenager to support the ashram.

Shakuntala () is perhaps the most enigmatic of the women. Attractive, witty and sharp, she is also one of the few widows who can read. She exudes enough anger that even Madhumati leaves her alone. Shakuntala is caught between being a God-fearing, devout Hindu, and her hatred of being a widow. She seeks the counsel of Sadananda (), a priest, who makes her aware of her unjust and unholy situation. She becomes attached to Chuyia upon her arrival at the ashram.

Chuyia is convinced that her stay is a temporary one and that her mother will come to take her away but quickly adapts to her new life. She befriends Kalyani, and witnesses Kalyani's budding romance with Narayan (), a charming upper-class follower of Mahatma Gandhi. Despite her initial reluctance, Kalyani eventually buys into his dream of marriage and a new life in Calcutta. She agrees to go away with him.

Her plan is disrupted when Chuyia accidentally reveals their affair to Madhumati. Enraged at losing a source of income and afraid of the social disgrace, Madhumati locks Kalyani up. Much to everyone's surprise, the God-fearing Shakuntala lets Kalyani out to go meet Narayan, who ferries her across the river to take her to his home. However, when Kalyani recognizes Narayan's bungalow, she realizes that Narayan is the son of one of the men whom she has been pimped out to. In shock, she demands that he take her back. Narayan confronts his father, learning the reason for Kalyani's actions. Disgusted, he decides to walk out on his father and join Mahatma Gandhi (). He arrives at the ashram to take Kalyani with him, only to find that Kalyani has fatally drowned herself.

Madhumati sends Chuyia away to be prostituted as a replacement for Kalyani. Shakuntala finds out and tries to prevent the worst, but she is too late. When Shakuntala finds Chuyia, Chuyia is deeply traumatized and catatonic. Cradling Chuyia, Shakuntala spends the night on the shores of the river. Walking through town with Chuyia in her arms, she hears talk of Gandhi speaking at the train station, ready to leave town. She follows the crowd to receive his blessing. As the train departs, in an act of desperation Shakuntala runs alongside the train, asking people to take Chuyia with them. She spots Narayan on the train and hands Chuyia over to him. The train departs, carrying Chuyia away while leaving the teary-eyed Shakuntala behind.

Cast

• as Shakuntala/Gyanvati Twins double role
• as Kalyani
• as Narayan
• as Bhagavati, Narayan's Mother
• as Chuyia
• Buddhi Wickrama as Baba
• Ronica Sajnani as Kunti
• as Madhumati
• Rishma Malik as Snehalata
• Vidula Javalgekar as Patiraji (auntie)
• as Saduram
• as Gulabi
• Vinay Pathak as Rabindra
• as Sadananda
• as Seth Dwarkanath
• Mohan Jhangiani as Mahatma Gandhi
• as Woman Bather

Production

Water is a co-production between Canada, India and the United States. The film was shot twice with the same (bilingual) actors, once in Hindi, once in English.

Release

The film debuted on 8 September 2005 at the and opened in other theatres at the dates given below. After several controversies surrounding the film in India, the Indian censor boards cleared the film with a "U" certificate. It was released in India on 9 March 2007.

During Sri Lanka screening, the film collected Rs. 42 million for its 38 days screening.

Reception

Accolades

Date of ceremony	Award	Category	Recipients	Result
				නිර්දේශිත
	or			නිර්දේශිත
				නිර්දේශිත
				දිනාගති
				නිර්දේශිත
				දිනාගති
			Deepa Mehta	නිර්දේශිත
			Colin Monie	නිර්දේශිත
				දිනාගති
			Deepa Mehta	දිනාගති
		Best Foreign Language Film	Deepa Mehta	නිර්දේශිත
			Deepa Mehta	නිර්දේශිත
23 June 2007			Deepa Mehta	නිර්දේශිත
			Deepa Mehta	දිනාගති
			Deepa Mehta (shared with for )	දිනාගති
		Top 10 Films	Deepa Mehta	දිනාගති
		NYFCO Humanitarian Award	Deepa Mehta	දිනාගති
			Deepa Mehta	දිනාගති
20 March 2006		Best Narrative Audience Award	Deepa Mehta	දිනාගති
			Deepa Mehta	නිර්දේශිත
		Best Youth Jury Film – In Competition	Deepa Mehta	දිනාගති
		Best Golden Spike Film – In Competition	Deepa Mehta	නිර්දේශිත
			Deepa Mehta	දිනාගති
				දිනාගති
				දිනාගති
			Deepa Mehta	දිනාගති

Critical response

The film received high praise from Kevin Thomas, writing in the :

For all her impassioned commitment as a filmmaker, Mehta never preaches but instead tells a story of intertwining strands in a wholly compelling manner. "Water," set in British occupied India of 1938, is as beautiful as it is harrowing, its idyllic setting beside the sacred Ganges River contrasting with the widows' oppressive existence as outcasts. The film seethes with anger over their plight yet never judges, and possesses a lyrical, poetical quality. Just like the Ganges, life goes on flowing, no matter what. Mehta sees her people in the round, entrapped and blinded by a cruel and outmoded custom dictated by ancient religious texts but sustained more often by a family's desire to relieve itself of the economic burden of supporting widows. As a result, she is able to inject considerable humour in her stunningly perceptive and beautifully structured narrative. "Water" emerges as a film of extraordinary richness and complexity.

Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times selected Water as NYT Critics' Pick, calling it "exquisite": "Serene on the surface yet roiling underneath, the film neatly parallels the plight of widows under Hindu fundamentalism to that of India under British colonialism."

Water received mostly positive reviews. On the film has an approval rating of 90% based on reviews from 94 critics, with an average rating of 7.63 out of 10. The site's consensus is that "This compassionate work of social criticism is also luminous, due to both its lyrical imagery and cast." On the film has a score of 77 out of 100, based on 25 critics reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

of said "The film is lovely in the way Satyajit Ray's films are lovely and the best elements of Water involve the young girl and the experiences seen through her eyes. I would have been content if the entire film had been her story" and gave it three stars out of four. of also praises Mehta's work on the trilogy saying that "Profound, passionate and overflowing with incomparable beauty, Water, like the prior two films in director Deepa Mehta's "Elements" trilogy, celebrates the lives of women who resist marginalisation by Indian society."^[]

In December 2005, it was named to the 's annual Canada's Top Ten list of the year's best Canadian films.

Soundtrack

ප්‍රධාන ලිපිය:

Controversies

Mehta had originally intended to direct Water in February 2000, with the actors , and . Her earlier film, , however, had previously attracted hostility from conservative right-wing organizations, which objected to her subject matter and portrayal of conservative households in a negative light. Protestors organised protests and attacks on cinemas that screened that film. The day before filming of Water was due to begin, the crew was informed that there were complications with their location permits for filming. The following day, they learned that 2,000 protesters had stormed the , destroying and burning the main film set and throwing the remnants into the in protest of what ultimately were revealed to be false accusations regarding the subject matter of the film. A right-wing politician also organised a suicide protest to stop the film production.

The resulting tensions and economic setbacks led to several years of struggle as Mehta was eventually forced to film Water in Sri Lanka, rather than in India. Finally Mehta was able to make the film, but with a new cast and under a false title (River Moon) in 2003. The struggle to make the film was detailed by Mehta's daughter, , in a non-fiction book, Shooting Water: A Mother-Daughter Journey and the Making of the Film.

See also

References

1. The film was shot twice with the same (bilingual) actors, once in Hindi, once in English.
2. Water සඳහා හි ඇති ගිණුම.
3. "'Water' at Majestic Cinema". Sarasaviya. සම්ප්‍රවේශය 30 November 2019.
4. "Water opens Toronto Film Festival" (බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය ඉංග්‍රීසි බසින්). 2005-09-09. සම්ප්‍රවේශය 2018-09-30.
5. Oscar-nominated film "Water" released in India 7 years after protests shut down filming – International Herald Tribune
6. https://www.rediff.com/movies/2006/jan/30rahman.htm
7. Nathan Lee (7 August 2008). "Stigmatized by Society". The New York Times. සම්ප්‍රවේශය 11 February 2014.
8. https://www.rediff.com/movies/2006/jan/30rahman.htm
9. "'Water' takes Sarala to international heights". Sarasaviya. සම්ප්‍රවේශය 30 November 2019.
10. "Water". . සම්ප්‍රවේශය 13 June 2019.
11. . . 13 July 2012 දින මුල් පිටපත වෙතින් සංරක්ෂණය කරන ලදී. සම්ප්‍රවේශය 10 January 2016.
12. "Deepa Mehta impresses with Water". Rediff.com. 9 March 2007.
13. "'Water' in a record flow". Sunday times. සම්ප්‍රවේශය 7 December 2017.
14. Utpal Borpujari (2005). . . 17 March 2006 දින මුල් පිටපත වෙතින් සංරක්ෂණය කරන ලදී. සම්ප්‍රවේශය 23 March 2006.
15. Patrick Frater (26 February 2006). "Water' sweeps over Bangkok fest". Variety. සම්ප්‍රවේශය 17 June 2014.
16. Thomas, Kevin (2006). "Movie Review: 'Water'", , 28 April 2006. Retrieved 27 February 2010. ^[]
17. Catsoulis, Jeannette (28 April 2006). "Movie Review: Water (2005): NYT Critics' Pick". New York Times.
18. "Water". . 25 September 2006.
19. https://www.metacritic.com/movie/water
20. "Water-2006". Roger Ebert. . 4 May 2006. සම්ප්‍රවේශය 31 May 2006.
21. "Topping the list: Canada's cinematic achievements". , December 14, 2005.
22. Jasmine Yuen-Carrucan. "The Politics of Deepa Mehta's Water". සම්ප්‍රවේශය 8 May 2006.
23. "'Water' shooting stopped again, Mehta 'asked to leave Varanasi'". The Hindu. . 6 February 2000. සම්ප්‍රවේශය 20 October 2011.

Bibliography

• Saltzman, Devyani (2006). Shooting Water: A Mother-daughter Journey and the Making of a Film. Penguin Books India. ISBN .
• Displacing Androcracy: Cosmopolitan Partnerships in Bapsi Sidhwa’s Water

External links

• වෝටර් සඳහා හි ඇති ගිණුම
• වෝටර් සඳහා හි ඇති ගිණුම
• වෝටර් හා සබැඳි අයිඑම්ඩීබී යොමුව
• Water සඳහා හි ඇති ගිණුම