“It has never happened before!” Deepa Mehta is incredulous and vindicated. Her trouble-ridden dream project, Water, which she had code-named River Moon to avoid the suspicion and hostility of Hindu fundamentalists, is ready and being bathed in raves. And it has been selected as the opening film at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival which starts on September 8. “I simply got a call from the festival directorate informing me that Water would open the festival. That was it. No red-tapism, no lobbying?thank God! This is the first-ever film that isn’t in English or French to open the festival.”

Deepa, gearing up for the film’s hopefully glorious release, is rapturous. She shudders as she recalls the film’s fate in Varanasi when she tried to shoot it with a different cast of Shabana Azmi, Akshay Kumar and Nandita Das five years ago. Today, Deepa is blissfully happy with the cast and the end-product. “Lisa Ray is in one word, ethereal. Everyone who has seen her wants to know where she’s been hiding. As for John, Water gives him an incredibly deep and erotic persona. This film will make him an international star.”

The other star attraction in Water is the little girl named Sarla who plays the pivotal role of a child widow. “Everyone from Waheedaji to Seema Biswas to Sarla have given the film the mood and texture I was looking for. I regret the fact that I had to shift location from Varanasi to Sri Lanka. Now the setting for the film is no more Varanasi. It’s the Bihar-Bengal border.”

Though she hates being controversial Deepa has made peace with her reputation of the controversy queen and her status as an NRI actor. “I don’t know why it happened with Fire and then Water. But I’ve moved on. I’ve made Water exactly the way I wanted to.”

While casting, Kareena Kapoor agreed and then dropped out. Shabana Azmi had to bow out because it was felt the Hindu fundamentalists would be adamantly opposed to her portraying a Hindu widow. Sighs Deepa, “All these were hard blows. But as they say, all’s well that ends well.” The eminently lyrical finale to Deepa Mehta’s elemental trilogy is all set to be released globally on November 4.

But the million-dollar question: Will it get a release in the country of its origin? “It should, and it must. The government has changed. And a lot has changed in India and within the Indian film industry since I attempted to make Water in Varanasi. Look at the variety of films coming out of Bollywood lately! It’s incredible. I think Water must be released in India?. But I won’t kow-tow to any governmental pressure, nor seek the approval or blessing of any politician in Maharashtra or elsewhere to get the film released in my country.”

What next? “It’s another dream project called Kamagathamaru for which I want the world’s biggest star-actor ? Mr Amitabh Bachchan.”

What about the adaptation of Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam that Deepa was supposed to do? “Hello? I gave up that idea six months ago! Is the Indian press still writing about it?”