Deepa Mehta with Lisa Ray

Five years ago, Deepa Mehta?s dream project, Water, was aborted when Hindu fundamentalists prevented Mehta from shooting in Varanasi. The original cast of Shabana Azmi, Akshay Kumar and Nandita Das waited for the project to take off. Finally, the film was shelved.

Until last year when Deepa finally decided to make the film with a totally different cast and on a different location. Now that Water, earlier pseudo-named River Moon, is complete and being readied for an early release, Deepa Mehta, now stationed at her farmhouse on the outskirts of Toronto, can breathe easy.

?When I was stopped from shooting Water in India my dream turned into a nightmare. All sorts of insinuations were made about the film by those who hadn?t even read the script and knew nothing about the film. But Water was the last of my elemental trilogy after Fire and Earth. I felt incomplete without it. I had to make Water.?

Last year Deepa got together a new cast. Seema Biswas replaced Shabana Azmi. John Abraham and Lisa Ray took over the roles originally earmarked for Akshay and Nandita. And the film was shot and completed in Sri Lanka. ?And I?m so glad I?ve got it out of system. Now I feel I could just retire. I?m that satisfied with Water! All those who have seen the film have told me it?s my best work, though I like all three parts of my trilogy equally. But since Water is a baby that underwent a very painful gestation period I guess it will always remain my favourite.?

Mehta is all praise for her cast. ?Seema Biswas is outstanding, as usual. But it?s John and Lisa who are going to stun audiences. For all those who think Lisa would be unconvincing as a Hindu widow, the film is a revelation. My script required the girl to be a lotus in a murky pond. That?s exactly how Lisa comes across.

?As for John he has left all of us overwhelmed. When he came to Sri Lanka to shoot for Water he was fully prepared. He knew how to wear the dhoti and how to play the flute. He knew the body language and the historicity of his character?and he just transformed into the character?. The chemistry he shares with Lisa on screen has to be seen to be believed. She?s so fragile and vulnerable and he?s so strong and yet so sensitive.?

How does Deepa assess her film? ?It?s pure and honest, not melodramatic at all, as audiences will find out when Water opens in November. For me the final seal of approval came from A. R. Rahman. When he saw the film he was completely overwhelmed. The music score that Rahman has done for Water has given the film a whole new dimension. I couldn?t have made Water without Rahman?or John, Lisa and Seema.?

But will it be shown in India at all? ?I hope so,? Deepa has her fingers crossed. ?It must be seen by Indians to know how unfair the fundamentalists were in their premature perceptions on the film?s theme.?

The rights for the Hindi version of Water are with the NRI entrepreneur Ajay Virmani who has financed some Hindi films earlier. ?It?s entirely up to him when he chooses to release it in India. On my part I?m just elated to have made this film. I?ve gone through an ordeal by fire ? no pun intended ? to make Water. In fact (Pakistani litterateur) Bapsi Sidhwa has written a book on the making of Water which will be published when the film is released.?

Mehta is delighted by the turn of events in the Hindi film industry this year. ?Films like Page 3, Black and My Brother Nikhil show the audiences are ready for a change. Nikhil, I believe is about a HIV positive gay man. When my Fire was released in India the fundamentalists argued that there was no lesbianism in India!?

About the rumour that she plans to cast Priyanka Chopra in the central role of Chhoti Malkin in an adaptation of Bimal Mitra?s Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, Deepa Mehta says, ?I?ve no clue where this came from. I?ve never met Priyanka, never discussed any project with her. As far as I know that project is a part of my past.?