Ysamar Pena
August 7th , 2011
Summary Review on the Movie “Water”
The film Water by Deepa Mehta is based on the lifestyle of widows and there are multiple protagonists. Many are shunned by society and their family after becoming a widow. They are also viewed with pity. It portrays the role of females and their commitment to culture.
It is a Bollywood production, I chose Bollywood links. The reviews agreed that the film was full of hope and tragedies. The review doesn’t emphasize the role f women, but the film does. The film also captivates the essence of culture.
An eight year old, Chuyia was obligated to marry an older man by her father. Her father then relinquished her into a house of widows after her husband’s death. The antagonist is the widow in charge Madhumati, had a prostitution market with a pimp. Only one widow, Shakuntala was allowed to maintain her long hair because of her beauty she was obligated to become a prostitute by the widow in charge of the temple. She prostituted her because she needed the money to pay off the temple’s expenses and for her own benefits’. The beautiful widow Shankuntala fell in love but she committed suicide after finding out her lover was the son of the pimp who has an organization with Madhumati. After the tragic death of the beautiful widow there was no one left to help Mudhumati obtain money. She then decides to use the eight year old for prostitution. One of the widows found out Mudhumati prostituted Chuyia and released her to the beautiful widow’s lover. He took Chuyia to a voyage on a railroad with Gandhi. This actually built hope for a better life for Chuyia. He was a well educated young man who admired and followed Gandhi’s influences.
The commitment of these Hindu widows is shocking. They are basically thrown in an abandoned temple and are restricted from doing a lot of things. For example they weren’t able to consume any luxuries, like candy. They were put on the streets of India to ask for money because they didn’t have someone to financially support them and they didn’t have any stability. This film was produced with the scenery and culture of the 1930s.
Throughout the film there was question that revealed Chuyia’s innocence. Her question also captivated one of the reviewers. She asked “what happens to men after their wife dies?” Men are able to remarry but for a female that is forbidden. At the temple the widows are told that they will go to hell if they remarry. This also reveals the role of women and their inequalities.
This film was an explicit production according to the reviewers. It does captivate a lot of the essence of a women’s lifestyle. Women are being limited to things unlike men. A lot of the traditions influence women. The life of Chuyia portrayed young marriage which had not only been a Hindu tradition but has also been in many other cultures. This also has occurred in America and the Dominican Republic. Females weren’t able to govern their own life; their parents did that for them. The male parent used to have the “louder” voice in a relationship; they were allowed to choose their children’s destiny. Through the years progressions females are now able to be identified as equal to men. Now we can have a profession rather than being a house wives and now we can decide what we want our futures to be like. A variety of cultures has made a remarkable impact in everyone’s life.
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