Message from vgairola

[Anonymous]

Evaluation of 'WATER' - a movie on India
Posted: 06-11-2006 05:18 PM
WATER – A Deepa Mehta Film

I think the film has tabled two still prevalent issues in Indian society. The first one of child marriage that is to be found all over India – especially amongst the illiterate rural class – and the other is the castration of a widow to the point of her expulsion from community to lead a life of bare sustenance, bereft of the company of her family, her loved ones and follow a life of total austerity devoid of any pleasures.
Generally speaking, a Hindu widow practices austerity in society today by wearing a dress (sari, etc.) devoid of any color, meaning white for a period of a year. During this period of time and beyond, she still lives with her in-law’s family but is no longer at liberty of wearing the ‘sindhur’ – red spot on the forehead which is a traditional symbol of being married. However, the type of social castration depicted in the movie is to be found among the community of Bengalis (people who live in the state of Bengal, with the city of Calcutta – or Kolkota – as the central hub. The term ‘Bengal tiger’ is from this region and this name is given to the magnificent big cats that inhabit the marshlands of the Sunderban in this state, adjacent to the country of Bangladesh).
The theme of the story, as also its matter-of-fact presentation, toggles the mind of the viewer and the audience cannot but feel the frustrated helplessness of the widow forced into such a situation. All the artistes have done a great job in playing a genuine role of the character they are portraying. Kudos goes to the child actress Sarala (Chuiya) because she is a Sri Lankan and does not actually speak Hindi – she had to learn how to speak her lines in Hindi. Credit can also be given to the others – like John Abraham (Narayan), a Bollywood superstar, and Lisa Ray (Kalyani), who is a new actress in tinsel town, for not letting a touch of their glitzy side to appear on this movie. This lent an authenticity to the their roles.
The set of the ghats (banks) of the River Ganges in the city of Varanasi, or Benaras, look quite genuine (because of the threats against the production by Hindu extremist groups, it has been shot in Sri Lanka and not India). The background of the funeral pyre in quite a few scenes helps only to emphasize the frailty of life and its closeness with water – the ashes of the dead body in Hinduism is ritually immersed in the water of the River Ganges to attain ‘moksha’, or a sort of continuity of the soul into another life.
A couple of things caught my attention as not being realistic – the fact that Kalyani was not shown with her hair shaved which was in keeping with the character of widows in the movie. The other point was that the ghats are actually a flurry of on-going activities like people bathing and washing – in the movie the atmosphere around the banks is shown to be comparatively serene and calm.
Overall I think the movie is a strong portrayal of the lives of Bengali widows and touches a very human emotion in all of us – that of being cut off from the rest of the community we are attuned to. I could not but wonder why not rebel against this social norm and follow ones own path? What is it that binds these widows to quietly follow such a custom? But then, in India, the issue of widow re-marriage is one that is still scorned on.