After Oscar nod, a theatrical release for 'Water' in India

New Delhi, Jan 28 (UNI) An Oscar nomination for Deepa Mehta's 'Water', a film that kicked up huge protests after its depiction of the lives of widows in Varanasi and other parts of the country, may have finally paved the way for its release in India.

After a highly successful run in North America and other foreign countries, 'Water', which was last week selected by the Oscars Academy among the final five nominees for the 'Best Foreign Language Film Category', will be released in theatres across India in March, trade sources said.

Starring Bollywood hunk John Abraham, model-turned-actor Lisa Ray and actor Seema Biswas, the film is the third in the trilogy of films by Deepa Mehta after 'Fire' and '1942 Earth'.

'Fire' tackled lesbianism, 'Earth' dealt with the subject of India's partition, while Water' focuses on the condition of widows in 1930s in India.

The film was, on January 23, shortlisted among the final five at the Oscars in the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category along with 'Pan's Labrinth' (Mexico), 'After The Wedding' (Denmark), 'Days of Glory' and the German Cold War drama 'The Lives of Others'.

The film is in the Oscar race in the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category as an entry from Canada-- the film has been produced by Canadian filmmaker David Hamilton jointly with Deepa Mehta.

'Water', has already been theatrically released in 57 countries, including the United Kingdom and Denmark, and has already brought in 5.6 million dollars at the North American box office after it played in 150 theaters, will be released in India by B R Films, a distribution firm owned by filmmaker Ravi Chopra (of 'Baghban' and 'Babul' fame).

A theatrical release for the film in India comes almost seven years after protests by fundamentalists forced the filmmaker to suspend its shooting in Varanasi and abandon the projects.

The protestors alleged that the film was ''anti-Hindu''.

The film was revived four years later with a cast altogether different from what marked its launch in 2000. So, John Abraham was roped in to play the male lead while Nandita Das was replaced by model-turned-actor Lisa Ray.

Initially, the film will be released in theatres in metros like New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kolkata. Later, depending on the response, it will be taken to smaller centers, the sources said.

Though negotiations with distributors for the release of the film in India have been going on for the past couple of months, the trade sources said the Oscar nomination for 'Water', - served as a boost for the film's much-awaited release in the country.

UNI