Deepa Mehta Movies
One of the most provocative and exciting new directors to make her mark on world cinema at the turn of the millennium, Deepa Mehta is known for her rich, complex explorations of the cultural taboos and tensions at play in the society of her native India. Beginning with 1996's controversial Fire, Mehta embarked on her ambitious trilogy of the elements: fire, earth, and water. Earth, the trilogy's second installment, was released in 1998.Born in India in 1950, Mehta received a degree in philosophy from the University of New Delhi. After immigrating to Canada in 1973, she embarked on her professional cinematic career as a scriptwriter for children's films, and in 1991, she made her feature-film debut as a director and producer with Sam & Me. The story of an unlikely friendship between a Muslim boy and an old Jewish man -- and the familial disapproval it engenders -- Sam & Me won the first Honorable Mention in the Camera d'Or category of the 1991 Cannes Festival. Mehta followed this triumph with Camilla three years later; another story of an unlikely friendship (this time between an unsatisfied young wife [Bridget Fonda] and a free-spirited old lady [Jessica Tandy]), it had the primary distinction of being Jessica Tandy's penultimate movie.
After producing a lesbian drama, Skin Deep, in 1995, Mehta embarked on Fire, the first installment of her elements trilogy. The 1996 film, which dealt with the politics of sexuality, centered on the relationship between two unhappily married Indian women. Due to its lesbian content and its commentary on the rights of women, Fire caused no shortage of controversy in India, particularly among Hindu fundamentalists who pressured the government to ban the film. Fire was ultimately re-released uncut in India, and it enjoyed a significant amount of international acclaim.
Earth, which was adapted from Bapsi Sidhwa's novel Cracking India, premiered at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival. A film that centered on the politics of land and nationalism, it was set amongst the catastrophic turmoil that accompanied the 1947 partition of India from Pakistan. Told from the viewpoint of an eight-year-old girl, it was an extremely ambitious project, and it met with a mixed reception. Following its release, Mehta embarked on Water, the trilogy's last installment. Focusing on the politics of religion, the film met with trouble from the beginning of its production in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi. A faction of Hindu fundamentalists leveled death threats at Mehta, rioted, and did thousands of dollars of damage to the film's set, forcing the director to withdraw from the state of Uttar Pradesh (where Varanasi is located) all together. Despite the turmoil surrounding the production of her film, Mehta vowed that it would be completed, describing the campaign against it as "pre-production censorship imposed by thugs."
Before Mehta was able to complete the elements trilogy, she took a light-hearted detour in 2002 with Bollywood/Hollywood. Satirizing the traditional Indian romantic comedy musical, the film drew mixed reponses from audiences, some of whom loved her foray into lighter fare, while others thought it was a gigantic misfire. The next year, Mehta returned with The Republic of Love, adapted from the novel by Carol Shields, which explored the state of love and relationships through the story of one modern couple. In 2004, Mehta finally completed her long-gestating film Water, bringing the trilogy to a close. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- 2008
Internationally renowned photographer Dilip Mehta takes the helm for this documentary focusing on the lives of the nearly 33 million Hindu widows who are forced to live isolated from society and in abject poverty. Dilip had been working as a production designer on her sister Deepa Mehta's Oscar-nominated feature Water when she learned that widows in modern-day India are living in the same horrid conditions that they were forced to endure back in the 1930s, the era in which her sister's film takes place. After opening in the ancient temple city of Vrindavan, where thousands of widows wage a daily struggle just to survive, Dilip travels to rural villages and speaks to the women who are currently working for change. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2008
Award-winning filmmaker Deepa Mehta (Bollywood/Hollywood, Water) writes and directs this magic realist drama detailing the ill fated arranged marriage between a vibrant young Indian girl and her temperamental Canadian husband. Chand (Preita Zinta) is about to be married, and in order to celebrate her family throws an elaborate party. The celebrations are decidedly short-lived, however, when upon arriving in Toronto and meeting her new husband Rocky (Vansh Bhardwaj), Chand immediately senses something off-putting about her new spouse and his family. Rocky's mother is nosy and domineering, the children of the household seem prone to malicious pranks, and the new husband himself is unusually cold and distant towards his optimistic young bride. Increasingly desperate yet unable to contact her family back home, Chand confides her fears in sympathetic fellow factory worker Rosa, who offers a most unusual solution to the dejected bride's dilemma - a potion with the power to make whomever drinks it fall hopelessly and helplessly in love with her. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Preity Zinta, Vansh Bhardwaj, (more)
- 2008
A woman who has learned a few things about taking care of herself runs the risk of having her tricks found out in this comedy-drama. Stella (Seema Biswas) works as a domestic in New Delhi and has used her fluency in English and skills as a cook to wrangle a job as housekeeper for Canada's ambassador to India. While she's well liked by her employers, they don't know that she's been submitting padded expense reports for years and pocketing the difference; she also regularly raids the cupboards to sell quality foods at a discount to others. However, Stella's schemes may be a thing of the past with the arrival of new ambassador Maya (Lisa Ray). Maya's husband Michael (Don McKellar) stays home to look after their young daughter, and cooks as a hobby; he's fond of Indian food, and insists that Stella give him lessons in preparing the local cuisine. With the man of the house a frequent presence in the kitchen, Stella finds scamming her employers is not nearly so easy, especially since she and Michael get along so well. Matters become all the more complicated when Maya and Michael hire a nanny, Tannu (Shriya Saran), who is an especially devout Hindu girl. Cooking With Stella was the first fiction feature from director Dilip Mehta. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Following the sudden and unexpected death of her husband, a widowed child bride lashes out against her fate in the Hindu ashram where she is expected to atone for her sins in this humanistic drama, the third installment of filmmaker Deepa Mehta's Elemental Trilogy. Chuyia's (Sarala) husband has died, and religious doctrine dictates that she now retire to an ashram to atone for the sins that caused her husband's untimely death. As Chuyia bides her time among widows both young an old -- some accepting of their fate and some bitterly resentful -- the preadolescent widow's spirit remains unbroken and hopeful for a brighter future. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Seema Biswas, Lisa Ray, (more)
In Deepa Mehta's poignant and heartbreaking romance, Emilia Fox plays Fay, a generally content, thirtysomething Torontoite suffering in a relationship of quiet desperation with her boyfriend; Bruce Greenwood is Tom Avery, a loser in the ways of romance with three broken-hearted marriages behind him, who hosts a late-night call-in radio program. The two meet and grow deeply smitten with one another, but must ultimately learn to accept one another unconditionally. Life seems just about perfect, until an unforeseen calamity challenges everything Fay has come to rely on as stable and solid. Mehta adapted the novel of the same title by Canadian author Carol Shields. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Greenwood, Emilia Fox, (more)
After making a string of social commentaries, Canadian director Deepa Mehta satirizes India's beloved genre in the lighthearted romantic musical Bollywood/Hollywood. Indo-Canadian millionaire Rahul (Rahul Khanna) goes against the wishes of his mother and grandmother to date the Caucasian pop star Kimberly (Jessica Paré); however, she gets killed in an accident and he is left devastated. His mother (Moushumi Chatterjee) seizes the opportunity and announces that he must get engaged to an Indian girl before his sister is allowed to wed. This is complicated by the fact that his sister is already engaged and pregnant. Under pressure, Rahul enlists the help of Sue (supermodel Lisa Ray), a professional escort who agrees to play the part of his Indian fiancée. He thinks she is really Hispanic, and she claims to have no love for traditional Indian men. Throughout his sister's wedding preparations, Sue begins to befriend his entire family, including the tough old grandmother (Dina Pathak). After some random bursts into songs and dances, Sue reveals her true identity and they fall in love. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rahul Khanna, Lisa Ray, (more)
Deepa Mehta directed this Indian-Canadian romantic drama, the second part of a trilogy. Based on Bapsi Sidhwa's autobiography, Cracking India, the story is set in 1947 in Lahore, where Hindu, Sikh, Parsee, and Muslim share a peaceful co-existence. Events are seen from the point of view of eight-year-old Lenny (Maia Sethna), a girl from an affluent Parsee family. Lenny's nanny, Shantya (Nandita Das), is involved with the Muslim Masseur (Rahul Khanna). When a train of Muslims arrives at the local depot and all the passengers are found murdered, the various sects turn against each other, and the city is soon aflame. Shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aamir Khan, Nandita Das, (more)
In this India-set Canadian drama, two disparate wives related by marriage and united at first by the oppressiveness of Indian tradition that relegates them to miserable unions, find solace and love in each other's arms. The film opens as an unhappy young couple, Jatin and Sita, fumble through a conversation. Neither wanted to marry each other, but as it was arranged by Jatin's family, they had no choice. Marriage does not stop Jatin, who owns a video store, from continuing his long-time love affair with a Chinese hairdresser. Caring nothing for Sita, he doesn't even try to hide the affair. Jatin's brother Ashok (who forced Jatin's marriage) is married to Radha. Deeply frustrated at her inability to conceive, he has joined a radical cult that forbids all sexual contact. Ashok and Jatin's demanding mother doesn't help matters nor does the family's twisted servant Mundu. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Perplexed by his father's coldness after he returns from WWI, Indy reminisces about the adventures he had in Greece and Russia. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Jessica Tandy made one of her final screen appearances in this comic road movie. Freda (Bridget Fonda) is a would-be singer and songwriter who would like a career as a performer but lacks the courage; it doesn't help that her husband Vincent (Elias Koteas), a graphic artist, keeps insisting that her interest in music is merely a hobby. Hoping to put some spark back into their marriage, Freda and Vincent take a vacation to Georgia, where they meet Camilla (Jessica Tandy), who lives in the main house near their cottage. Freda discovers that Camilla was once a musician; she claims to have enjoyed a stellar career as a concert violinist in her native Canada, and she knew only the best people (although Freda isn't sure that she believes all Camilla's stories, especially Ghandi's fondness for enemas). While Vincent gets involved in a business deal with Camilla's son Harold (Maury Chaykin), who produces sleazy exploitation films, Camilla regales Freda with stories about her greatest triumph, performing the Brahms Violin Concerto at Toronto's Winter Garden Theater. When Camilla discovers that the Brahms concerto is to be performed soon at the Winter Garden, Camilla and Freda decide that this is something they should see, and the pair hits the road to the Great White North, meeting a remarkable variety of people along the way. Tandy's husband and frequent co-star Hume Cronyn has a supporting role as one of Camilla's former beaus; it was their last picture together. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jessica Tandy, Bridget Fonda, (more)
- 1994
Tattooing is the focus of this Canadian lesbian drama. The film also examines artistic ambition. The protagonist is Alex a filmmaker whose reputation in the alternative art world is well established. She is getting ready to make a feature film. She puts out an advertisement and receives a letter from Chris, a woman pretending to be a man. In the letter, Chris describes, in delicious detail, the sexual pleasure involved with getting a tattoo. Intrigued, Alex hires Chris as her production assistant. She is interested in more than Chris's skills; she also wants her input in the film. Alex's lover tries to warn her that Chris is extremely unstable, but Alex doesn't listen, and allows Chris's crush upon her to run unchecked. This leads to disaster. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Preteen Indiana Jones gets in touch with his spiritual side in this made-for-TV movie compiled from episodes of the television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. While visiting India in 1910 with his mother (Ruth de Sosa) and tutor (Margaret Tyzack), young Indy (Corey Carrier) meets Krishnamurti (Hemanth Rao), a boy little older than himself who has been proclaimed a great teacher in the faith of theosophy. Later, Indy and his parents are travelling through China when young Jones falls ill; with no doctor or medical facilities for miles around, the family is forced to take shelter with a family of farmers who employ local folk medicine to treat Indy. The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Journey of Radiance was edited from two episodes of the show: "Benares, January 1910" and "Peking, March 1910." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Corey Carrier, Ruth de Sosa, (more)
- 1991
Nik is a nice Muslim boy who is lured to Canada from India by his uncle to serve as an attendant and keeper for a reclusive and crotchety old Jewish man. Trouble starts when Nik becomes just a little too good at his job, and the old man begins to enjoy his cross-cultural relationship with a sprightly and adventurous younger man. Neither the old man's family, nor Nik's family likes the situation, considering it (at best) unseemly: they get Nik fired and make it impossible for the two friends to communicate, with tragic results. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ranjit Chowdhry, Peter Boretski, (more)
