Indian Film Prompts Controversy

By Azad February 10, 2000 3:13 PM

     Print Story

VARANASI, India (AP) ? On the banks of India's holiest river, a film company tried to portray the harsh life of widows in 1930's India, outraging right-wingers who say it insults Hindu tradition.?Although the social stigma of being a widow is no longer as strong, a few feet from the former set in Varanasi, a shelter for widows mirrors the life director-producer Deepa Mehta plans to depict in her film "Water." Life seems to stand still in the dim light of the shelter, where eight of its residents sit listlessly, staring blankly at the peeling walls ? outcast from society because of their husbands' deaths.?Right-wing activists say they will block the shooting of "Water," the third movie in a trilogy by the Canadian-Indian filmmaker Mehta.?Their protests have succeeded in driving the production out of Varanasi.?Read more.

Tweet This Now!