WATER is the final film in director Deepa Mehta’s trilogy on the elements, following Fire (1996) and Earth (1998).

In pre-independent India, set against the backdrop of Mahatma Gandhi’s rise to power, eight-year old child-bride Chuyia hears of her husband’s death. Her father, following custom, exiles her to a widow’s ashram where she is meant to live out her days. Chuyia’s feisty presence starts to affect the lives of the other residents, in particular 20-year-old Kalyani (Lisa Ray of Bollywood/Hollywood), 35-year-old Shakuntala (Seema Biswas of Bandit Queen) and an 80-year-old whose days are waning. Encouraged by Chuyia, Kalyani (who serves as the ashram’s breadwinner) breaks tradition and falls for young upper-class Gandhian idealist Narayan (Bollywood star John Abraham), forcing the widows to question their future and faith. Even Chuyia is caught in the wind of change.

“Deftly balancing epic sociopolitical scope with intimate human emotions, all polished to a high technical gloss, Deepa Mehta’s WATER is a profoundly moving drama. Mychael Danna’s lush score mixes well with a half-dozen strong songs by prominent Indian composer A.R. Rahman, showcased in nicely handled montage sequences.” - Variety