Feb 28, 2026 12:04pm IST
‘John Abraham In ‘Water’ Was My Mother’s Choice’: Deepa Mehta On 20 Years Of The Film (EXCLUSIVE)
Deepa Mehta’s ‘Water’ remains one of her most celebrated works, completing her elemental trilogy and continuing to resonate with audiences years later. Two decades after its release, the film’s turbulent journey and lasting cultural impact remain vivid in the filmmaker’s memory. In an exclusive conversation with Variety India, Mehta reflects on how she views the film as it turns 20.
The 2007 film is set in 1930s India and follows a young widow sent to an ashram, where she confronts the harsh realities imposed on widowed women. The film is a powerful critique of patriarchy, tradition and social exile.
We begin by asking her how she zeroed in on the cast in ‘Water'—John Abraham and Lisa Ray? And pat comes her response: “John was my mother’s choice. She saw him and said he was a handsome guy, and I must cast him. That was it. I could never say no to my mother.”
The cast that she had in mind earlier was Akshay Kumar in John’s role, Nandita Das in place of Lisa, and the original choice for Seema Biswas’ role was Shabana Azmi, shares the filmmaker.
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Would she have made “Water” differently if it were to be made today? Deepa is emphatic that she wouldn’t change a single thing if she were to make it today. “'Water' went through many upheavals in the casting and the shooting schedules. It was finally made exactly the way I wanted to. But with a different cast. If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t change a thing.”
For a filmmaker as fiercely independent and forthright as her, and who has made films on subjects that were then spoken of in hushed tones, if at all, does she find it easier or tougher to make films on her own terms in today’s environment? “I am making the films I want to, the way I want to,” says Deepa without missing a beat.
Deepa Mehta is often thought of as the best internationally known Indian film director since Satyajit Ray. Not buying this compliment, Deepa says, humbly, “ I am flattered, but it’s not true. I am nowhere near Ray. And besides me, there are so many.”
Among the filmmakers Deepa admires is Neeraj Ghaywan. She says, “I saw his ‘Homebound’ at the Toronto Film Festival last year. I was blown away. He is an exceptional director.” She adds, “There are so many Indian directors making a name all over the world. Like the Manipuri director Lakshmipriya Devi, whose ‘Boong’ is making waves.”
So, what's keeping Deepa busy these days? She shares,“ I am working on a film called ‘Forgiveness,’ based on a true story about the Japanese internment camps in Canada, where Canadian-Japanese citizens were placed during the Second World War. What we do to our own citizens when their ‘ look’, ‘garb’, or ‘religion’ differs from the populist ruling government is despicable and heartbreaking.”
This theme of discrimination has been almost a constant in her films. Remind her of this, and she says, “Come to think of it, you are right. Whether it is communal discrimination in ‘1947 Earth’, the segregation of widows in ‘Water’, or the isolation of a homosexual in ‘Funny Boy’…I think it is appalling that so much divisive cinema is being made in India.
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