The Hindu, 22 Sept, 2006

Toronto, Sept. 22 (PTI): Indian filmmaker Deepa Mehta's controversial film 'Water' is in the running for the prestigious Oscar award this year as Canada's official entry in the best foreign language category.

The decision to enter 'Water', which is made in Hindi language with some portions in English, was announced yesterday by Telefilm Canada.

A special Oscar committee will screen 'Water' and 82 other entries to determine the five nominees.

The film starring John Abraham, Lisa Ray and Seema Biswas deals with the subject of the plight of Hindu widows and is Mehta's third film, completing her elemental trilogy series after 'Fire' and 'Earth'.

All the three movies were Indo-Canadian co-productions.

Toronto-based Mehta, who began shooting the film in the holy city of Benares in India in 1999, had to shelve the project following an opposition from the Hindu fundamentalists. She later shot the film in Sri Lanka.

'Water' was the official film for the opening of the 2005 Toronto film festival and has been widely appreciated in the Canadian city.