'Water' gets top award at Bangkok Film Fe

'Water' gets top award at Bangkok Film Festival
25th Feb 2006 15.45 IST
By Agencies

Deepa Mehta's movie 'Water', which tells the story of a child widow in 20th century India, has won the Golden Kinnaree award at the Bangkok International Film Festival in Thailand.

Set around a widow's ashram in Varanasi in the late 1930s, 'Water' was screened to a full house last week and will be screened again on the last day of the festival.

A jury led by Australian director Fred Schepisi awarded the prize which Princess Ubol Ratana of Thailand presented to Mehta and Canadian David Hamilton at a star-studded awards ceremony at the Conrad Hotel yesterday.

'Water' stars Seema Biswas, Lisa Ray and John Abraham . It was the opening film of the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival.

The movie was nearly abandoned by Deepa Mehta after protests by Hindu organisations halted filming in the year 2000. The director received death threats and was forced to shelve the movie after Indian authorities shut down filming amid protests by Hindu outfits. She finally shot the film in Sri Lanka five years later.

'Water' has already enjoyed a good run in Canada, where Mehta now lives, having opened five film festivals and grossed almost two million dollars at the Canadian box-office since November.