Water
Watching movies is a favorite pastime especially at weekends. So, after the week-long trial and effort when Saturday brought rain and I felt as much as comfortable, I decided to watch this Deepa Mehta film 'Water'.
Water left me in tears. The harrowing conditions of the widows characterised so well by Seema Biswas and Sarla and the other ladies tore the heart. Lisa Ray's angelic countenance left a crimson stretch in the affected mind. The eunuch, the child, the 'fatty cow', 'Kaalu' the dog, 'auntie' the parrot and the 3 deaths: that of the parrot, auntie and Kalyani in the Gandhian era solemnised the sick agony of the widows in the triumphant victory of men in their manipulation of the scriptures.
'Didi's silent faith and honest confessions stood as a raw protest against the traditions and customs symbolised by the ruthless cutting of the hair ( Sarla & Kayani) and snatching away the keys from Madhumati the 'fatty cow' and the rape of the little Sarla by a man twice the age of Sarla.
Deepa Mehta did not rule out figuring Narayan (John Abraham)the Lord's 'Meghdoot' to protect the meek and docile Kalyani brushing the duo's feelings for each other with a romantic touch. This was a respite for the audience too. Shakuntala's silent sacrifice and Shakespeare and Byron in the tongues of lecherous ( if that can be applied for Rabindra) elites was a farce and Gandhi's release from jail, a mockery at the weakness of the British regime to keep truth from blowing its horn. There is comic relief and Deepa needs appreciation for sustaining the audience's interest throughout. The close visuals of the lotus and using it as a Metaphor in the form of Kalyani, the occasional sounds of the knocks, the cow, the dogs, the rain, the ragas concocted to affect the audience to involunatrily participate in the age that was.
Here was a movie where, death in it's natural occurence in due course of events, in the innocence of Sarla and Kalyani, the priest's feelings for Shakuntala, the tears in the eyes of the scheming Madhumati for the death of her husband and 'Mitthu', Sarla's feelings for aunty and Kalyani, the unison in the festival of Holi, breathed life in the midst of a failing breed crying for survival. The movie is moving, so much as in its blending time and space and leaving the viewer in the depths of 'Water'.
Water left me in tears. The harrowing conditions of the widows characterised so well by Seema Biswas and Sarla and the other ladies tore the heart. Lisa Ray's angelic countenance left a crimson stretch in the affected mind. The eunuch, the child, the 'fatty cow', 'Kaalu' the dog, 'auntie' the parrot and the 3 deaths: that of the parrot, auntie and Kalyani in the Gandhian era solemnised the sick agony of the widows in the triumphant victory of men in their manipulation of the scriptures.
Deepa Mehta did not rule out figuring Narayan (John Abraham)the Lord's 'Meghdoot' to protect the meek and docile Kalyani brushing the duo's feelings for each other with a romantic touch. This was a respite for the audience too. Shakuntala's silent sacrifice and Shakespeare and Byron in the tongues of lecherous ( if that can be applied for Rabindra) elites was a farce and Gandhi's release from jail, a mockery at the weakness of the British regime to keep truth from blowing its horn. There is comic relief and Deepa needs appreciation for sustaining the audience's interest throughout. The close visuals of the lotus and using it as a Metaphor in the form of Kalyani, the occasional sounds of the knocks, the cow, the dogs, the rain, the ragas concocted to affect the audience to involunatrily participate in the age that was.
Here was a movie where, death in it's natural occurence in due course of events, in the innocence of Sarla and Kalyani, the priest's feelings for Shakuntala, the tears in the eyes of the scheming Madhumati for the death of her husband and 'Mitthu', Sarla's feelings for aunty and Kalyani, the unison in the festival of Holi, breathed life in the midst of a failing breed crying for survival. The movie is moving, so much as in its blending time and space and leaving the viewer in the depths of 'Water'.
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