WATER - Deepa Metha - A.R.Rahman

[dinesh2002]

Yo guys...the trailor is out ! and gues what?? music is awesome.....wow....such amazing tunes...... check it out!!!

http://water.mahiram.com/


or download :

HIGH
http://www.mahiram.com/upload/Water%20-%20A%20Deepa%20Mehta%20Film_%20Hi.rm

MEDIUM
http://www.mahiram.com/upload/Water%20-%20A%20Deepa%20Mehta%20Film_%20Medium.rm

LOW
http://www.mahiram.com/upload/Water%20-%20A%20Deepa%20Mehta%20Film_Low.rm


thanks to : ARR group fans!

[Arjuna]

awesome mate- ARR rocks!!

[alias]

One word.... SCINTILLATING.... It would be interesting to see how the songs composed by ARR and BGM by Michael Dyanna the man who composed the super hit Monsoon Wedding come together. This will be awsome.

But there are something about ARR which really bother me. I think ARR cannot handle the controversies. He has been a coward when it comes to controversery. First he backed off from helping poor people and distributing free food when AV accused him of helping muslim fundamentalist. Second he rejected Deepa mehta offer to compose BGM and she had to get Michael Dyanna. He has said in his interview that he do not want to piss certain people off (VHP,BJP,RSS) and this really shows his cowardness. Is he so afraid of his life that if he had composed BGM of water, he would get killed by these idiots and fanatics?

I think he has to come out of cowardness and openly take a stand. But music wise he still ROCKS.....

[njv]

But there are something about ARR which really bother me. I think ARR cannot handle the controversies. He has been a coward when it comes to controversery. First he backed off from helping poor people and distributing free food when AV accused him of helping muslim fundamentalist. Second he rejected Deepa mehta offer to compose BGM and she had to get Michael Dyanna. He has said in his interview that he do not want to piss certain people off (VHP,BJP,RSS) and this really shows his cowardness. Is he so afraid of his life that if he had composed BGM of water, he would get killed by these idiots and fanatics?

I think he has to come out of cowardness and openly take a stand. But music wise he still ROCKS.....

If he is a majority, he wouldnt bother. Being a minority (or atleast converted to), he probably worried about his business impact than his life. Nothing wrong in it. I listen to it. Though the songs are good, I still see the repitition. I just wish this is ARR's last period type / patriotic type song.

[slperson1]

http://rapidshare.de/files/4393722/Water_Theme.mp3.html

[coucou]

[tscii:6ad728c265]

Star


Group: Regular Members
Posts: 432
Joined: 6-September 04
From: Rochester, NY
Member No.: 5253



This movie was supposed to release a few years ago, but got bogged down in controversey. However, this movie will premier at the Toronto film festival in Sept and may see a world release in Nov. ARR's music for this album may be first heard sometime in the next few months. Reportedly, ARR has said that this is one of his best soundtracks. From the looks of it, it won't be appealing commercially in terms of fast and modern numbers, but more in terms of classical music, melody, and beautiful voices. I know it's early, but I want to start a discussion on it!



River Moon / Water

Cast - Liza Ray [as Kalyani], Seema Biswas [as Shakuntala], John Abraham [as Narayana], Manorama, Raghuvir Yadav [as Gulabi], Kulbhushan Kharbanda [as Sadananda], Waheeda Rahman [as Bhagavati], Vinay Pathak [as Rabindra], Rishma Malik [as Snehalata]

Director - Deepa Mehta

Producer - Ajay Virmani, David Hamilton

Lyrics - Javed Akthar, Sukhwinder Singh

- "River Moon was the working title. It's "Water", my 4-year-old dream. I've relocated it from Varanasi." - Deepa Mehta

- all songs finished. A.R.Rahman has rated this as his only album which he would give a 10/10.
- 2 songs by Richa Sharma.

- "Vaishnav Jan To Tene Kahiye.." by Kaushiki Chakrabarty, along with her father Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty.

“Water was a wonderful experience. I didn’t even realise that I was singing for a film or that A.R Rahman was recording a song. He called me to the studio and asked me to do a practice session and that is what he recorded. It was as simple as that.” [Indian Express]

Rahman provided her with no background music, but asked her to sing different variations for the given tune. "I sang all the variations I could conceive of. It was like rediscovering myself," she smiles.

- "We shot in 45 days with John and Lisa without any distraction. There’s something lovely about her. I thought she suited my heroine Kalyani’s character to perfection. Lisa cut her hair really short to play the widow. She didn’t need to shave her head. Just have it brutally shorn. Maybe not knowing John’s modelling antecedents helped me to decide he was right for Water. I met him in Mumbai without pre-conceived notions. Since he plays the sincere idealistic lover, the actor had to project purity. I felt that quality in John. I’m very happy with the film and the performances. For the pivotal role of the child widow Chuhiya I signed a Sri Lankan child who had never acted before." - Deepa Mehta

- Deepa Mehta : "The two women characters of the film, played by Lisa Ray and Seema Biswas were in search of liberation from the miserable social and cultural set-up. Ultimately, one widow associates herself with Gandhiji's satyagraha. The film ends with the widow touching Gandhiji's feet with the famous bhajan, "Vaishnav jan to tene kahiye..", being sung in the background".

- The market is equally agog about A R Rahman's spiritual odyssey for Deepa Mehta's Water. "The music he has created for Water is simply barrier-breaking," Deepa enthuses. Rahman has reportedly experimented with an assortment of authentic voices. He thinks it is his life's best work, and I tend to agree. The music negotiations are still on. The producer hopes to compensate himself at least partially for the losses suffered during the aborted shooting of Water in Varanasi by selling the music rights. [India Today, Dec 2000]

- "It has the makings of a phenomenal soundtrack." - Deepa Mehta.


these songs are best of best of arr :)


[/tscii:6ad728c265]

[alias]

njv, Whether ARR belongs to minority or majority. Guts is guts. Being a minority is not a sin in India and he has equal rights, so why dont he utilize his rights is my question?

Thanks cocou for the article.

[Shankar]

alias,
for once i agree with you :-) People associated with music are generally soft (does not include those dope addicted rockstars), and they don't want to get into these sort of troubles/hassles...This has nothing to do with minority / majority.

[MADDY]

hey alias, i think BJP was never involved in water protests and pls dunt call them idiots........it was under BJP rule that ARR got 2 national awards......

[alias]

But they gave support from behind and did not do anything to allow the unit to film it which clearly shows they supported it. And ARR getting awards has nothing to do which party ruled... atleast until now for music category :-)

[Movies]

Maddy,

BJP did not GIVE ARR the national awards!

And maddy , comeon... dont be naive... You should know indian politics much better! Ofcourse BJP was behind it!


Rahman despite being a minority has been having gracious support from all corners of the country, regardless of the one or two rotten hearted people. One thing great about Indian Media is it isnt partial to any race or community! Which is something to be proud of guys, cause anywhere else in the world the medias No 1 culprit in racisim!
Ofcourse exceptions are there...... but lets jus look at the majority!

[MADDY]

<Disgression>
Movies, Indian media is one of the worst in the world and NDTV in particular, they r so critical of BJP and so appreciative of Congress.....they r all so lopsided......ARR deserved the awards but if BJP had been such a narrow-minded party then they could have stopped these awards cos it directly comes under the ministry's discretion....they also gave him padmashree.....
<End disgression>

btw, do u guys really think ARR needs such a "Azhudhu vadiyura" movie at this juncture in his career.......god save ARR....

[Shankar]

the BG Score sounded interesting! Maddy, How come you don't like this ?!?!?!?!

[alias]

Maddy, I personally think there are lot of scope for a movie like water, since these type of movies will be watched by westerners (which have Indians being abused and shown as 3rd world country with abusive culture and this is what Deepa Mehta, Meera Nair is famous for portraying Indians to the west) and the music has a lot of scope to be recognized among the west. And secondly ARR needs to complete Deepa Mehta trilogy.

I know couple of years back he rejected Meera Nair Kama Sutra and thank God for that but end up accepting Fire which is close :-)

[MADDY]

gud point alias, ARR being such a patriotic guy shuld understand deepa mehta's motives of showing India in bad light......but alias all these "pistha" movies r killing ARR's market, u know rang de basanti's audio rights will face few problems after Mangal Pandey's music did not do that well.......

shankar, music was pretty fresh but wat ARR needs in Hindi again is a hit and not a Kaviyam......he needs a A Ah in Hindi......look how things r looking brite now in tamil with 1 hit.....fortune does change with 1 good hit........

[alias]

Maddy, Rang De Basanti is a pucca commercial album. Did you hear Aks from Anu Malik which is first movie of Rakesh Mehra and he needs fast beats and he made Anu Malik come up with pretty good music and I am sure he does not need to tell ARR to come with Rocking music. He will by default produce a wonderful album. And from RDB, ARR will venture into commercial except Chamki which looks like folk songs.

And talking about RDB market, yes it will face some problems as it has competition from Krish which has sold to a record price.

[Movies]

<Disgression>

Maddy,

Congress Rocks!

<End disgression>

:lol:, :rotfl:


Sorry guys !!!

[Shankar]

>>>>>>>>>.
since these type of movies will be watched by westerners (which have Indians being abused and shown as 3rd world country with abusive culture and this is what Deepa Mehta, Meera Nair is famous for portraying Indians to the west)
<<<<<<<<<

very true...these media fools don't understand this, and call this cross-over and claim that these 'brilliant' directors are taking India into Hollywood. Nonsense!! These people know what needs to be done to attract the western audience, and they keep showing it, at the cost of portraying reality. They just want india to be projected as a place where human rights are violated, people are a couple of decades behind...All these are to just boost their ego as to how good their society is, and how other countries lack those sophistication !

Every american loves watching the abuses people undergo in afghanistan/Iraq and other Middle east countries, and they scoff at the 'barbaric' acts of the people there, and pat themselves for being in a 'just' and 'civilized' society, and then came Katrina......Katrina played the leveller !!! it clearly exposed what these guys are made of....the US army made many of those poor survivors run, and shot them down...Girls who were alone/without family members were sexually assaulted, and looting is in full swing !! Now, who will those americans look down upon ? modhallA unga mEla irukkara azhukkai pArungappa, apram oorai suththam paNNalAm !!

[Shankar]

Guys who are really sincere in showing the diversity in this land) should do some cross over movies, showing various cultural background, the lifestyles of people in different areas. To a general westerner, an indian marriage is punjabi marriage...indian music is bhangra, and any promo on india has to be those sand dunes and camels, with turbaned Rajasthani guys playing some stuff !! and these guys are the pioneers of the cultural-crossover !!

How i wish someone comes up with a series of movies, depicting different lifestyles, practices and customs of different region, and yet their basic values, their feelings towards the country and family remain the same/similar, all potrayed in totally different set-ups, with the underlying theme being the one mentioned above, instead of portraying the ills of the society...

[alias]

Excellent point Shankar. For the first time I accept your point. These (Americans) calls other barbaric and backward people, but when they face problems as they did during katrina, their identity is exposed. See the looting and murder happened during katrina, does forward people behave in such a way. There are countries which have been destroyed during flood, did they loot their countrymen?

Talking about crossover movies, I think Swades was in right direction, it should have been a crossover movie which projected Indians in right direction.

[Shankar]

>>>>>>
For the first time I accept your point.
<<<<<

I'm honoured :-)

Swades...the idea was good, the screenplay sucked ! It was nothing more than a sophisticated documentary (local ppl call it "news-reel"), played before the movie starts.

[Scale]

WATER TRACK LISTING & CREDIT DETAILS

" Aayo Re Sakhi "Composed by by A.R. RAHMAN
Lyrics by RAQUEEB ALAM
Sung by SUKHWINDER SINGH,
SADHNA SARGAM

" Piya Ho "
Composed by by A.R. RAHMAN
Lyrics by RAQUEEB ALAM
Sung by SUKHWINDER SINGH,
SADHNA SARGAM, GANGA

" Naina Neer"
Composed by A.R. RAHMAN
Lyrics by RAQUEEB ALAM
Sung by SUKHWINDER SINGH,
SADHNA SARGAM

"Sham Rang Bhar Do""
Composed by by A.R. RAHMAN
Lyrics by RAQUEEB ALAM
Sung by RICHA SHARMA, RAQUEEB ALAM,
SURJO BHATTACHARYA

"Vaishnava Janato" Composed by by A.R. RAHMAN
Lyrics by RAQUEEB ALAM
Sung by AJAY CHAKROBORTY, KAUSHIKI

"Bhangari Marori"
Composed by by A.R. RAHMAN
Lyrics by RAQUEEB ALAM
Sung by SUKHWINDER SINGH

Strings Orchestrated and conducted by SRINIVAS MURTHY

Violin Leader
KALYAN

Chorus
FEBI, FEJI, GANGA

Kol & Percussion
SIVAMANI

Flute
NAVEEN

Indian Rhythm
RAJA, VEDA, NEELAKANTAN, LAKSHINARAYAN

Additional Music Editing
H. SRIDHAR

Sound Engineers
H. SRIDHAR, S. SIVAKUMAR

Assistant Sound Engineer
ADITYA MODI

"Die Schone Mullerin"

Written by FRANZ SCHUBERT

Piano performed by ELIF ISIKOZLU
"Ghunghat Ke Pat Khol Re"

Performed by JUTHIKJA ROY

By courtesy of SAREGAMA INDIA LIMITED

[alias]

Wow.. has it released scale?

[alias]

Wow.. has it released scale?

[Scale]

No(ye)t.

[slperson1]

Released:
http://www.mahiram.com/music/index.php?q=f&f=/Filmi+Albums/2005/Water

[dinesh2002]

typical ARRahman touch....since is a non-mass movie..the songs sounded dull & will suit the movie perfectly coz the songs were meant for the movie....but the tune was very good !! it was supose to have 10 songs rite??? what happen to the other 4 songs?

[muzammil84]

get the songs from http://uyirvani.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=4878

[united07]

THIS ARE THE SONGS OF DAWN!.....
Just listen to it at dawn...and the great melody, the great spirit, the great feel of it will stick to u for the rest of ur life!...

Now this is the kinda songs from ARR that I will bet the rest of my life against! Commercial success aside...the satisfaction that these albums gives....can only be superceded by probably....Mangal Pandey, of the latest releases!

Ah..Aah...looks like a childs play now to me....

MY hindi collections of ARR is turning out to be some masterpiece works of a century!
Zubeida, Meenaxi, TLOBS, Fire, Water, Earth, Mangal Pandey, Kisna, Bose, Lagaan, Taal, Fiza (Piya Haji Ali)....WOW........LIFE JUST STARTS TO FEEL GOOD FOR ME!

[alias]

United, Has the CD r cassette released?

[Scale]

Not yet alias. I doubt its release both audio & movie in India. Thats what I heard from ARR Yahoo groups. I just listened 1ce online. Another Masterpiece . Lots of Folk & Classcal stuff. Needs more listening.

Awaiting its official audio release anywhere in the world...

[Scale]

About Piya Ho - Class

To: arrahmanfans@yahoogroups.com
From: A"Ajit" <ajit_mundra@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 05 Oct 2005 20:45:54 -0000
Subject: [arr] Song "Piya Ho" from Water is beyond words

This song will capture you. It won't let you go. It has me in its
grip. One of the most powerful and haunting tracks I have ever
heard. Rahman's genius shines in a different way. This album does not boast of complex wizzardry, stark arrangements, fast beats, modern sounds, slick styles. It's as pure of a modern Hindi
soundtrack as you will ever find. Not very diverse. Songs are quite
similar in nature, style, singing. Classical, folk, spiritual,
melodious, sheer brilliance. His best? I don't think so. One of
his best? Most certainly. I can see why he rated it 10/10. Rahman
poured his soul into these songs.

Buy this album for "Piya Ho" if not for anything else. 6 something
minutes of absolute bliss. Based on Raaga Todi, this song is for the ages. A modern classic. If you ever want to get a glimpse into
Rahman's soul, listen to this song with full attention. I don't even
understand the lyrics, but the melody, the haunting chords, the
mesmerizing and soft rhythms are out of this world.

Rahman...........I don't konw what to say............

One word to describe this album...........PURE.

[Scale]

http://musicmavericks.blogspot.com/2005/10/by-chance.html

[alias]

Thanks Scale for the information. This album will prove to this world and joker fans of other md who is ruling the IFM.

[Scale]

Alias! Official release on 8th Nov 2005.

http://www.soundtrackcollector.com/catalog/soundtrackdetail.php?movieid=73282&labelid=38976

Still doubt its indian release. I might have to borrow it from you. :wink:

[Scale]

To: arrahmanfans@yahoogroups.com
From: "Ajit" <ajit_mundra@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2005 15:15:45 -0000
Subject: [arr] Different versions of Water songs

ARR fans!

Remember back in October when the songs from Water were released by
mistake with the low quality sound? I bought the album from itunes this weekend, thanks to Gopal, and the songs, now in CD quality, are a bit different from the original ones we heard. Mind you, the melody, singing, and most other structural characteristics of the songs are the same as the original ones. However, Rahman has added some new intrumentation and percussion to the new ones, like added string arrangements, tabla, ghatam. The endings of Aayo Re and Piya Ho are also a bit different. The songs are richer and more ornamented, beautifully crafted and simply mindblowing. For example, during the Antara of Naina Neer, the tanpura is introduced and heard alongside some beautiful haunting chords with strings and synth.....I was literally bowled over when I heard that and couldn't sleep that night thinking about that song. Aayo Re has some added string arrangements. Tabla is now added to Piya Ho. Easily some of Rahman's most powerful and haunting compositions to date, if not THE MOST. However, disappointing is the fact that the song "Bangari Marori" is not in the release. And, by the way, Michyael Dana did a superb job with the BGM....soothing, haunting, classical, just beautiful with lots of Sitar, Santoor, Flute, Tanpura, Tabla, Strings.

A good friend and ARR fan suggested that perhaps the version we heard back in October with Bangari Marori may be released as a separate soundtrack in India later under the music label Saregama.

[Scale]

[tscii:9a4770944e]Planet Bollywood rated 10/10 for this album.

http://planetbollywood.com/Music/Water/

Hats off to Rahman Sir :thumbsup: :clap:


Rahman races out of the gates with the very lively Chanchan. As the track begins, you feel like Rahman is going to infuse the number with all sorts of instruments, however he tames himself quite nicely here. He strictly uses rich Indian-based instruments like the santoor to freshen the tune up a bit. The steady rhythm and quick pace provide Sukhwinder Singh and Sadhna Sargam with an open field to frolic in. It’s so evident that these Rahmantics are doing nothing but having plain fun! The Aayo Re Laayo Re refrains are just brilliantly rendered! Raqeeb Alam is a fresh lyricist to fly alongside Rahman and his words keep up with the pace of the track. All in all this is a fabulous piece to listen to.

So A.R. Rahman’s Holi Re from Mangal Pandey didn’t sit well with the critics. Let’s go back to the year 2000 for a truly special Holi track, Shyaam Rang Bhar Do. This specialty features Richa Sharma, alongside Naqeeb Alam and Surjo Bhattacharya. Now remember, this was composed in the year 2000, much before Richa Sharma got her feet wet in the playback industry with hits like, Maahi Ve, Kuch Naa Kaho, Dhooriyaa, and Rabba. I must say, she sounds better than ever in this colorful energizer. Raqeeb Alam and Surjo Bhattacharya are excellent in their roles as well. Once again, Rahman reframes from using anything from the west, as he composes a beauty here. Raqeeb Alam’s lyrics are innovative while writing on a subject that has been sung about numerous times in the past. Bravo to the entire crew of Shyaam Rang Bhar Do.

Rahman slows down the tempo considerably with Piya Ho. Even for Rahman, this romantic piece is quite off-beat. The strength of Piya Ho lies in the somber backdrops of the rhythm. It’s as if you listen close enough, you can almost feel the pain, seclusion, and misfortune of the ill-fated widows during the pre-independent era in India. You almost think this is going to be a Sadhna Sargam solo before Sukhwinder Singh makes a lonesome appearance during the end of the song. Although both renditions are up to par, one might have liked to hear a Kavita Krishnamurty or a Sujata Bhattacharya render this type of song rather than Sadhna Sargam. The solemn mood is augmented by Ganga, who seems to be intertwined in the musical rhythms in her chorus-like role. Raqeeb Alam’s aren’t as breakthrough as they are in Shyaam Rang Bhar Do but they fill the gap. This is a piece that I would love to see play itself on screen!

Naina Neer Baha is very similar to Piya Ho, except that it has a different rhythm and a different melody. Nonetheless, Sargam fits the part here in yet another mellow number. However, this one has a peculiar fragrance to it, as Rahman gives it a touch of the sitar and a unique synth flute sound that makes its way in the middle of the piece. As does Piya Ho, this tracks could belong to the ghazal genre, and definitely wont find a place with the masses. Lyrically, the song will be appreciated by the lovers of ghazals and poetry.

“Water was a wonderful experience. I didn’t even realize I was singing for a film or that A.R. Rahman was recording a song. I sang all the variations I could conceive of. It was like rediscovering myself.” – Kaushiki Chakraborty [Indian Express]

As Rahman is known to do, he asked Kaushiki Charkaborty, daughter of acclaimed Pandit Ajay Chakraborty, to do a practice session. He provided her with no music and asked her to sing various variations of a given tune and ended up recording the entire piece while she was completely unaware. The tune: Vaishnava Jana To. Yes, Rahman waves his wand at the immortal Gujurati bhajan. Father and daughter sing side by side to come up with a purely classical rendition of Gandhiji’s favorite bhajan. However, the chorus takes on the task of rendering most of the piece. We hear Rahman’s flute only for the second time in this album, as you only wish this piece was longer. Terminating at 3:00, the piece leaves you with a sense of dissatisfaction. Maybe if Rahman put more time in elongating the song, our anticipation would have been rewarded. Nonetheless, it is a fine entrance for Pandit Ajay Chakraborty’s daughter.
[/tscii:9a4770944e]

[ansa400]

When is the audio releasing in India? Are all the 20 tracks by A R R 'Scale'?

[Scale]

No news about its release in India. ARR YG also doubts!.

From ARR YG,

Totally 20 tracks: 4- songs by ARR (1 banghri morari isnt included in overseas releases) & rest are the BGM's by Michale Dyana. Seams BGM's were also good.

[Scale]

Listen to Water tracks here,

http://www.raaga.com/channels/hindi/movie/H000969.html

Piya Ho is really Mesmerising :thumbsup: I am completely thrown out of RDB's craze now. Definetly the best track of recent times. Another Sadhana's classic. Sukhwinder singh intro is superb like NI in TBB (RDB). Check the above review of Piya Ho on the top of this page by Mr.Ajith M. :D

Sham Rang is instantly catchy. Aayo Re & Naina Neer is stupendous. ARR's combo with Deepa M & Shyam Benegal (from hindi) is something extraordinary like MR/Rajiv M's combo in tamil for music lovers.

2005 has been a fantastic year for ARR especially in melodies (HHPY, GhoomP, Desh KM, Mayilirage, thigu thigu, TuBB, Khoon,Lukka C now Piya ho :clap:) Kisna, Bose, Ah Aah, RDB, Water.

[thamizhvaanan]

really sad abt the dilemma of this film's music release in india. I have been waitin for a long time for this. hope u guyz inform when the music is out!
I heard piya ho in raaga.com. i am seriously refraining myself from listenin to it again. I wanna hear the music from CD in my earfone. I am sure it is not an experience to miss. so I better wait

[great]

finally ...i happened to listen to Water...in one word its ROCKING 8-)

[dinesh2002]

finally ...i happened to listen to Water...in one word its ROCKING 8-)

yo man....i heard even the indian version of WATER audio is released,which has Bangri song...did u notice the Aayore saakhi Indian version & canada version has difference?? the ending of indina version is longer and has more heavy beats wherelese the canada version is shorter in about 30 secs.

[great]

Dinesh... i havent listened to canadian version....this album is amazing...aayo re saii and bangiri marorii are simply the best.....

[dinesh2002]

CHARTBUSTERS

Rang De Basanti
Rang De Basanti

Yeh Hai Meri Kahani
Zinda

Qatra Qatra
Family

Chanchan
Water

Dulhaniya
Dosti Friends Forever

http://www.ndtvmusic.com/chartbust.asp

[Scale]

Check Water Movie Songs

http://youtube.com/watch?v=SVCDkVtzkqs

[Reality]

http://rapidshare.de/files/16867142/Aayoresakhi.rm.html


http://rapidshare.de/files/16870718/Naina.rm.html


http://rapidshare.de/files/16877991/Shyamrang.rm.html

[ajaybaskar]

Film : Water Director: Deepa Mehta; Cast: John Abraham, Lisa Ray, Seema
Biswas

When a film is so full of noble thoughts and nobler intentions as Water,
you don't feel like washing your hands off it easily. As Deepa
Mehta's controversial evocation of the plight of widows in
pre-Independence India kept chugging along, I wasn't getting into it
at all, but I kept telling myself to keep at it.

But then John Abraham started spouting about kadamba flowers and I threw
my hands up. Can you see Abraham in this scene, in this role, in that
Bengali-style dhoti and with those granny glasses on? I couldn't!
The minute I spotted him, my mind screamed, Look, there's that biker
dude from Dhoom.

What on earth is he wearing? There's a reason actors are actors and
stars are stars, and however gamely Abraham furrows his brow in
approximations of soulful ness, he remains a star, not an actor.

It's very hard not to giggle when he starts to talk about those
kadamba flowers. But even if you can make that leap, this moment
doesn't ring true because his character doesn't ring true.

Narayan is such a one-note romantic, he asks his buddy to join the
Congress, but other than hanging Gandhi's picture on his bedroom
wall, there isn't much else he himself does. Well, he does try to
rehabilitate a widow (Kalyani, played by Lisa Ray), but it's never
clear if he's motivated by her loneliness or her loveliness.

What Mehta is saying is that though she's lost her husband which
made her almost an untouchable in those days this nice Brahmin boy wants
to marry her, but Ray is such a ripe, marble-skinned beauty, any man
would snap her up in a trice. Where's the conflict in this?

Water isn't just about issues; the issues become the movie. When
Kalyani bumps into a married woman, the latter exclaims she'll have
to bathe again. (Ergo, Widows Were Treated Like Untouchables. ) And on
and on it goes, with plot lines about prostitution and paedophilia and
how widowers did not end up with the same fate.

Mehta seems to have lifted wholesale the basic design of Benegal's
Mandi. There, we had prostitutes of all ages and shapes and sizes and
colours; here it's widows. But where Mehta makes this scenario her
own is through the character of Shakuntala (a stupendous Seema Biswas).

At first, we think were seeing the story of Chuhiya. But as Water
unfolds, we see that Chuhiya is merely the catalyst for Shakuntala's
character arc.

Shakuntala's passive acceptance of her fate is shaken by the arrival
of this child, and perhaps there's an undercurrent of unfulfilled
maternal feelings too that are unleashed in her, which makes her by the
end of the film its protagonist. A good storyteller can do that:
blindside you with an insight.

There are also some lovely Bollywood stretches, like the one where
Chuhiya and Kalyani are wringing out wet clothes from a first-floor
verandah and the water sprinkles down on Narayan on the street below.

The next instant, we hear A R Rahman's Aayo re.. on the soundtrack,
and the skies open up with rain, as if continuing what Kalyani set off,
as if investing her intimate gesture with cosmic resonance.

But evocative as these scenes are, these full-blooded Bollywood rhythms
are horrendously at odds with the stateliness Mehta is trying to
achieve.

It's one thing to see a caged bird symbolising a life in confinement
in something like Pakeezah the overheated metaphor fit in perfectly with
the overheated movie but the same thing here made me groan and roll my
eyes.

The one thing Mehta gets beautifully right in Water is the relationship
between two secondary characters, the eunuch-pimp Gulabi (Raghuvir
Yadav) and Madhumati (the head-widow played by Manorama). Their
conversations are funny, lewd, catty, and thoroughly entertaining, and
yet, under the surface, there's the shared sorrow of being outcasts.

Mehta doesn't belabour any of this, but it's there for us to
see, to feel. Gulabi and Madhumati appear real; they make you painfully
aware that the rest of the characters however well enacted are merely
constructs to drive home the points in the story.

They make you wonder what Water would have been like had it been about
individuals rather than issues.

[sha]

can anyone pls give me an english translation of Piya ho song....

[ajaybaskar]

Hi all,

Seems like Water is a strong contender to figure in the Oscars
nominations list.

No.1 oscar prediction site, oscarwatch.com has included Water in its
predicted 5 nominees for "Best Foreign Film" category.

Most other oscar prediction sites have also included Water in their
predicted lists.

http://www.thefilmexperience.net/Awards/2006/foreign.html
http://www.incontention.com
http://andthewinneris.blog.com has Water at No.40 for Best Picture itself!

[Nerd]

Water earns an oscar nomination :clap: :clap: :clap:

[MADDY]

Water earns an oscar nomination :clap: :clap: :clap:

but this was a project that ARR himself didnt believe in.........its simple man, makke movie showing something destructive and demeaning against Indian culture and Indians, u earn a oscar nomination.......i'll not be happy if Water wins the Oscar too..... :cry: .....

those old stupid idiotic judges couldnt stand a vibrant India shown in RDB.....sad but true.....

[selvakumar]

"Water" ah !
Ippadi oru Padama ! :roll:

[Shankar]

>>>>>
but this was a project that ARR himself didnt believe in.........its simple man, makke movie showing something destructive and demeaning against Indian culture and Indians, u earn a oscar nomination.......i'll not be happy if Water wins the Oscar too..... Crying or Very sad .....
<<<<<

Agree completely...Not just India. Any movie showing something bad about eastern country would be hailed as a pathbreaking effort. And our shameless media will hail this as a major achievement by an Indian.

>>>>>>
those old stupid idiotic judges couldnt stand a vibrant India shown in RDB
<<<<<<

Total disagreement here :-)...RDB wasn't great as a movie. I would've loved Omkara making it to the oscars. It would've had a better chance of winning because, the story (othello) is known to those "old, stupid, idiotic judges", but the treatment is totally Indian, which makes it a good contender. However, the local deciding authority fell for the commercial, psuedo-patriotic effort.

[MADDY]

"Water" ah !
Ippadi oru Padama ! :roll:

adhuvum ARR music..... :lol:
but ARR walked out of this project as soon as VHP/RSS created ruckus in kasi(UP) opposing this movie......he said" whats the use of doing a project in which many ppl. are not happy with it" 8-) ....

[Nerd]

Yeh maddy. You hit the nail right on its head. The only thing that fascinated me was water had ARR's music (just the songs, that is)

The film shows India in a very poor light and Deepa Mehta always concentrates on India's lows and apparently the westerers are loving it. But it will not win the oscar thanks to Pan's labyrinth(Mexico)!

[rsubras]

.its simple man, makke movie showing something destructive and demeaning against Indian culture and Indians, u earn a oscar nomination.......i'll not be happy if Water wins the Oscar too..

bingo maddy.............even i have the same thought..... datz why a Satyajit Ray film showing Calcutta as a city of beggars is more appreciated than any other revolutionary, vibrant, cultured indian movie... The west simply doesnt want to change it's outlook of india

even i will not be so much happy if water wins oscar nomination..........

[sonia_fr]

.its simple man, makke movie showing something destructive and demeaning against Indian culture and Indians, u earn a oscar nomination.......i'll not be happy if Water wins the Oscar too..... :cry: .....

Do you mean that everything shown in "Water" is far from the reality? Those days, the very few indian period movies deal with the fight for the independence and indian solders courage... etc. Should we only remember the better part of our history? With Water Deepa dared to talk abouth the fate of widows! You think it's "destructive" but that's was the real situation! As you said "sad but true"!

I watched "Water" only for ARR, as i watched Fire & Earth, but with Water i got the chance to see a beautiful movie!

[lancelot]

.its simple man, makke movie showing something destructive and demeaning against Indian culture and Indians, u earn a oscar nomination.......i'll not be happy if Water wins the Oscar too..... :cry: .....

Do you mean that everything shown in "Water" is far from the reality? Those days, the very few indian period movies deal with the fight for the independence and indian solders courage... etc. Should we only remember the better part of our history? With Water Deepa dared to talk abouth the fate of widows! You think it's "destructive" but that's was the real situation! As you said "sad but true"!

I watched "Water" only for ARR, as i watched Fire & Earth, but with Water i got the chance to see a beautiful movie!

i think ill agree with sonya here. if the issue of "widows" was true, then whats wrong in showing it? it was a beautiful movie no doubt.
the beauty of Sri Lanka was captured on camra as never before (thats only one reason)

IMO.. to think that oscars would select this movie over RDB because it shows the bad side of india is kind of lame (no offence) dont you think??

hehe
:D

[Shankar]

>>>>>
to think that oscars would select this movie over RDB because it shows the bad side of india is kind of lame (no offence) dont you think??
<<<<<

Oscars choosing water over RDB is itself a baseless argument. One is canada's official nomination and another one is India's. I am happy that RDB was kicked out. While we had Omkara, these guys chose rdb!! I don't have any complaints on rdb getting kicked out.

[ajaybaskar]

I dont think ARR wud work with DM anymore. He had agreed earlier to compose for the trilogy. Now that his contract is over, he wud not waste his time for DM.

[rsubras]

>>With Water Deepa dared to talk abouth the fate of widows!

daring to talk about a sad truth is one thing, making business by exposing your country's weaknesses in the international community is another thing

>>IMO.. to think that oscars would select this movie over RDB because it shows the bad side of india is kind of lame (no offence) dont you think??

nooooo....i feel that majority of the west ppl still view india as the one satyajit ray portrayed in his movies

[MADDY]

Do you mean that everything shown in "Water" is far from the reality? Those days, the very few indian period movies deal with the fight for the independence and indian solders courage... etc. Should we only remember the better part of our history? With Water Deepa dared to talk abouth the fate of widows! You think it's "destructive" but that's was the real situation! As you said "sad but true"!

I watched "Water" only for ARR, as i watched Fire & Earth, but with Water i got the chance to see a beautiful movie!

yes dear, that happened some 50-60 yrs ago in India......why dont they make movie on inhuman slavery imposed on Africa/Asian countries by the English and French 100 years back?? why dont they make a movie on the recent Bush atrocities??........sad/regretting things happen in all countries but to glorify the sad part of India always is getting out of hand.......and also, we all know the "western view" of India........they will never change........

i guess its time we get such people banned from India or cancel their indian citizenship........again, i meant Deepa Mehta and not you...... :lol:

moreover, they still dont believe that we have fighter planes with us (base theme of RDB) :lol: ....they must be thinking that we still fight wars with swords and bullock carts/elephants......how stupid,pathetic creatures are westerners...... :lol:

[rsubras]

>>how stupid,pathetic creatures are westerners..

i wud agree to most of ur views here maddy except this one....... stupid and pathetic are the ones who put down their home land and always glorify the west, makes money out of degrading their own country

ok naama music forum la pesittu irukkom.......so back to Water sound track.......... :D

[sonia_fr]

>>With Water Deepa dared to talk abouth the fate of widows!

daring to talk about a sad truth is one thing, making business by exposing your country's weaknesses in the international community is another thing



I don't think Water is making business anywhere! If you've seen the movie, you want say that the money was the aim! I prefer a movie like Water than the the facked Karan Johar's picture perfect movies with NRI for NRI!



yes dear, that happened some 50-60 yrs ago in India......why dont they make movie on inhuman slavery imposed on Africa/Asian countries by the English and French 100 years back?? why dont they make a movie on the recent Bush atrocities??........sad/regretting things happen in all countries but to glorify the sad part of India always is getting out of hand.......and also, we all know the "western view" of India........they will never change........

i guess its time we get such people banned from India or cancel their indian citizenship........again, i meant Deepa Mehta and not you......



As if women's fate had changed from the 50's! There have been some films on slavery, but as India rejected Water, France & UK had rejected them!

Why worry about the views of some stupid & pathetic creatures!


Being banned from India won't prevent people like Deepa making such movies! And the indian citizenship, i don't got it!

[MusicIsLife]

I have not seen the movie yet.
Kamal said: Oscar is something representative of Hollywood movie rankings, if we fight about a Oscar nomination and also get one, it does not mean that we are appreciated in that world and again it does not mean that Hollywood awards is the greatest of all!!. If we consider Oscar as just an award everything will be OK.
Typically i liked RDB for its more clever film making, highlighting struggles in the past and comparing with the current, the music was brilliant, it was a complete movie of sorts.
That is my humble opinion, i have been in the US for 11 years (first thing an american asks (now changed in NJ) is tell me all about India, I feel it is absurd, how do you tell about the richness of the country, while I dont know fully about Tamil Nadu where I am from), there is lot to learn. So, IMHO, Indian movies should potray the +ve side, the growth in 50 years not 150 years (like US) and differentiate that, still there is racial discrimination in US (Watch "Crash" awesome depiction).

[Surya]

yes dear, that happened some 50-60 yrs ago in India......why dont they make movie on inhuman slavery imposed on Africa/Asian countries by the English and French 100 years back?? why dont they make a movie on the recent Bush atrocities??........sad/regretting things happen in all countries but to glorify the sad part of India always is getting out of hand.......and also, we all know the "western view" of India........they will never change........

i guess its time we get such people banned from India or cancel their indian citizenship........again, i meant Deepa Mehta and not you...... :lol:

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: Awesome Words Maddy!! :D :D

[MADDY]

yes dear, that happened some 50-60 yrs ago in India......why dont they make movie on inhuman slavery imposed on Africa/Asian countries by the English and French 100 years back?? why dont they make a movie on the recent Bush atrocities??........sad/regretting things happen in all countries but to glorify the sad part of India always is getting out of hand.......and also, we all know the "western view" of India........they will never change........

i guess its time we get such people banned from India or cancel their indian citizenship........again, i meant Deepa Mehta and not you...... :lol: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: Awesome Words Maddy!! :D :D[/quote]

thanks Surya...... :D .....

sonia, i guess u r also being hyportical here........u think status of women is good in middle east,Pakistan and y even in the so-called "developed" countries like USA and UK??? y only target India???

moreover, u tell movies abt French and English slavery rejected by the english and french, then y r they giving awards to movies demeaning indians??? their double standards/plaigarism/racist intents can never be justified.....Water is surviving only on these -ve sentiments.......

btw, Sonia, our boss walking out of this movie was like ,winning the oscar for me....... 8-)

[A.ANAND]

[tscii:1b9c7a4931]
Movie
Water
Director
Deepa Mehta
Producer
Deepa Mehta
Music
AR Rahman
Cast
John Abraham, Lisa Ray, Seema Biswas




Subhash K Jha


What do you say about a film that hits you hard where it hurts the most , so hard that it takes your breath away. Water belongs to that rare category of films that have the power to re-define the parameters of cinema, to re-align the function and purpose of the medium, and to re-structure the way we, the audience look at the motion -picture experience.
It's no coincidence that Deepa Mehta's heroine is named Kalyani . Lisa Ray as the tragic but irradiant widow seems to echo Nutan's Kalyani in Bimal Roy's Bandini. The tragic grandeur that Water wears on its resplendent sleeve is a quality that sets it apart from other reformist dramas.

The film has a great deal to say about the plight of socio-economically challenged women, specifically the widows of Varanasi in the 1930s . The burning ghats and the waters that flow from them, symbolize the ashes-and-embers predicament of Deepa's ashram-bound women….all plagued by the pathos of dereliction , deprivation and yes, prostitution.

In telling it like it is, Mehta never flinches. When has she ever done that?! Her elemental trilogy(Fire, Earth & Water) reflects a harshly uncompromising sensibility. In Water Mehta doesn't beautify the brutality of the widows' existence.

There are bouts of humour, dance and music(watch Lisa Ray and little Sarala dance around their dingy room as the rain splashes romantically on the parched streets down below, or the eruption of Holi revelry in the ashram). A quality of luminous lyricism runs through the narration, specially in the romantic interludes between Narayan(John Abraham) and Kalyani(Lisa Ray) which are designed like a modern-day re-working of the Radha-Krishna mythology. The sheer purity and beauty of the central romance contrasts tellingly with the squalidity of the lives and settings that the plot negotiates with such slender but deft steps.

Whether it's in capturing the layer after emotional layer in this onion of a drama or in juxtaposing sequences of the shimmering river with the run-down ashram, Giles Nuttgen's camera doesn't flinch from the beauty and the grime. The cinematography could've easily converted the multi-layered character-study into a touristic over-view. Nuttgen takes us into the darkest areas of the human condition to search for the peace that prevails under the panic of existence. And A.R Rahman's music, his best in (y)ears, uplifts the mood of tragic pathos to the sphere of sublimity.

Many moments in Water would comfortably qualify as Pure Cinema. That moment when the oldest woman in the ashram devours a laddoo that she had been craving for all her life could be seen as the most satirically tragic juncture in a film on soci-culturally challenged lives.

Water as the giver and the destroyer…that's the predominant metaphor that cuts through heart of the fragile but for tale. Each time we see the porcelain Kalyani peep out of her dungeon-like window, we know she's searching for a horizon that most of us never find in our lifetime.

Water contours and defines those glazed regions in our history that we would rather not sharp-focus on. In many ways its depiction of the plight of abandoned widows is a metaphor for the condition of women across the world, and also a microcosmic view of the human condition.

In one way or another we are all persecuted and haunted. A film like Water comes once in a while to negotiate that seemingly insurmountable space between desire and longing, between love and rituals. As in all works of true art, no character in Water is big or small. They're all played by actors who know what needs to be done, and how to bridge that gap between delusional reality and illusional artistry.

The fine cast grabs your undivided attention. Seasoned performers like Manorama(playing the head of the ashram she's a conniving scheming farting mass of vulgarity and self-interest), Seema Biswas(clenched controlled conflicted by fundamentalism and the Gandhian reformist that assails her existence) and Raghuvir Yadav(a whoop as a singing eunuch) blend beautifully with the central love story embodied with supreme sensitivity in the John-Lisa pair.

And to think that we always thought of John and Lisa as actors incapable of overcoming their inherent urbanity! It's Sarala as little Chuhiya whom you'll find hard to get out of your head. She is the most credible child performer ,on a par with Ayesha Kapoor in Sanjay Bhansali's Black. Normally children in films respond to adult situations in an unnaturally knowing way. Chuhiya remains a child caught in a frightening world of persecution and perversion.

Like bolts of blue feelings , Deepa Mehta inter-cuts the wretched lives of the characters with glimmers of hope. Even when Mahatma Gandhi makes an unexpected appearance at the end the director doesn't allow her vision of poetry to be crowded by postures of polemics.

While you grieve for these doomed disintegrating lives, you cannot miss the subtext of social reform that underlines their lives. The hallmark of a true work of art is the level of sublimity it achieves in its characterizations while conveying thoughts on the quality of lives. What Deepa Mehta has to say about the plight of women in India 60 years ago remains true to this day. Hopefully things will change before another 60 years pass.

Water leaves us with much hope, and some frightening misgivings.





[/tscii:1b9c7a4931]

[united07]

Rahman covers charts from Top to Bottom

http://www.indiafm.com/features/2007/03/09/2358/index.html

[united07]

With Water being release in india officially, will the music be included for the National Award this year?

The songs definitely worthy of National Award....what do you guys think?

[ajaybaskar]

Yes. But i dont think they wud include Water as it is a canadian production.