Click to play videoNew Delhi: Deepa Mehta's Water, set in pre-Independence India of the 30s and dealing with the state of Hindu widows in Benares is the only film with an Indian connection at the Oscars this year.
The film, which stars Bollywood actors John Abraham, Lisa Ray and Seema Biswas, is nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film Category as a Canadian entry.
The film has been shot in Sri Lanka and is set to A R Rahman's music.
Deepa film faces competition from Denmark's After The Wedding, Algeria's Days of Glory, Pan's Labryinth from Mexico, and the German film The Lives of Others.
As Deepa herself puts it, Water is undoubtedly in very good company.
“All the films are amazing. I have seen them all, but Pan's Labryinth is a stunning film. The German film The lives Of Others is fabulous and both the Algerian film Days Of Glory and the Danish film After The Wedding are lovely. So, is Water. Lets see,” Deepa says.
While on the one hand the film received mostly rave reviews in the international press, Water has been widely criticised in the Indian media for the manner in which it serves up Indian exotica to the west - widows, prostitution, child marriage, and even Mahatma Gandhi thrown in for good measure.
“When I did Water, we enjoyed the process. But never did it thinking that the film will make it to the Oscars. I heard the narration and realised that it is beautiful and so I did it,” says John Abraham.
In India, the film will be released theatrically on March 9, a good year after it made it to US screens.
“That’s a dream come true that Water is finally releasing here and people are going to see it. Its not a question of feeling vindicated or life coming full circle, I feel this is its right and I am absolutely thrilled,” Deepa says.
But while the entry may be Canadian, but representing Water at the Oscars, Deepa says she knows just how to make it very clear that she's an Indian at the end of the day.
"I am going to wear saree. I always do,” she says.
So will it be “water, water everywhere” or "water under the bridge"? Will it win or won't it win? For that answer we'll just have to wait until Oscar night when the trophies are finally handed out.
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