Water

river so unclean. Drawing the same parallel in the indian hindu religion we worship female goddesses, we see our daughters as lakshmi but as soon as they reach a certain phase of life they are discarded as commodity or burden or liability. Among one such tradition was Manusmriti which was followed in some parts of colonial times of india, where widows were bashed and outcast from the society, and pushed them into darkness of despair, loneliness and poverty, they are never allowed to wear different colours of clothes other than white, shaved their heads, cannot roam outside freely, cannot celebrate or do what they desire, cannot marry someone else, its worse than being imprisoned and that to for no crime. This film exposes the hypocrisy and cruelty behind this tradition with so many nuances, It shows how it is just another means of business disguised as a religion, young widows used for prostitution no matter whether they are minor or not. They are pushed into this life, because people think of her as a liability or burden, one less mouth to feed. The film does not feel dramatic or heavy, it is very subtle in its screenplay putting the lights of life and struggle of these widows, it invokes the strong emotions through performances and scenes. The film looks at the lens of hope of reform rather than disparity. Even though we see failed attempts of liberation and freedom, But at the end it tells us to uphold the truth and humanity over the blind faith and superstitions. This was the third film in Deepa Mehta's elemental trilogy "Fire" "Earth" and "Water" all three films explore the themes of Gender , Religion, and Class inequalities , discrimination and abuse but also showcases the strong characters which becomes the face of resilience, courage, love and hope. It is one of the best trilogy you will ever see in indian cinema.