'Water' nominated for Oscars

'Water' nominated for Oscars
24th Jan 2007 10.11 IST
By Agencies

The John Abraham – Lisa Ray starrer Water has been nominated for the Oscar Awards in the Best Foreign Film category from Canada.

The Deepa Mehta directed venture, which is a story about the plight of Hindu widows in 1930s whose shooting in India had to be scrapped following protests from Sangh Parivar outfits, was Tuesday nominated for the Oscar Awards in the Best Foreign Film category from Canada.

The film, which also stars Seema Biswas among others, made it to the final five. Other entries in the category include 'Pan's Labrinth' (Mexico), 'After the Wedding' (Denmark) and German Cold War drama 'The Lives of Others'.

"I am so thrilled with this news. This film has meant so much to me, we have seen so much, that to have it all end in such a way is best thing I could have asked for," Mehta said from her residence in Canada.

The movie is the last in Mehta's triology, which include Fire and Earth .

After cancelling the shooting in India, Mehta completed the film in Sri Lanka.

Set in Varanasi in 1930's, 'Water' depicts the plight of a group of widows forced into poverty at a temple.

Mehta's films have always managed to tackle sensitive subjects. While 'Fire' dealt with the taboo topic of lesbianism, 'Earth' was set in the tumultuous times of the partition.

Aamir Khan -starrer Rang De Basanti , directed by Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra , the Indian entry into the foreign language at the Oscars, was knocked out in the first scrutiny.

"I wish 'Rang De Basanti' was also in the running, I would have enjoyed it," Mehta said.

The film's producer Ravi Chopra expressed happiness at the news, saying "I loved the film when I first saw it and I am so glad it has been nominated. We will soon fix up a date for the release of the film. Now that it has been nominated for the Oscar, there will be even more curiosity about it."

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