Enlarge imageBy Jeffrey Hodgson
TORONTO (Reuters) - Deepa Mehta’s "Water", which triggered violent protests and death threats when it began filming in India five years ago, will open the Toronto International Film Festival, organizers said on Tuesday.
The film, which is set in the 1930s and deals with Hindu child widows, beat out movies by better known Canadian filmmakers Atom Egoyan and David Cronenberg for the prestigious opening slot.
"Water" gained notoriety in 2000 after hard-line Hindu protesters burned its sets in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh, saying the film distorted Indian culture.
Mehta, an Indian-born Canadian citizen, received death threats and had to abandon the production.
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"It had started becoming more about doing the film at any cost, which is not healthy for the film, so I said ’stop’," she said.
"The film is absolutely not anti-Hindu ... the script was read and passed by the very government that protested, so you wonder about that."
After taking a break, during which she made romantic comedy "Bollywood/Hollywood", she filmed "Water" in Sri Lanka.
"Water" completes a film trilogy that includes "Earth" and "Fire". "Fire", which portrays a lesbian relationship between two Indians, was temporarily pulled from distribution in India after theaters showing it were attacked.
Mehta said she is frustrated that when discussing the controversies, people assume she is broadly criticizing the country she was born and raised in.
"When I talk about it, people think that I’m talking about Indians. It’s not that. It’s a group of Indian fundamentalists, which is not India. India has been very supportive of me," she said.
The director said she was shocked and thrilled when she found out on Saturday that the world premiere of "Water" would kick off the Toronto festival, often ranked with Cannes, Venice, Berlin and Sundance as one of the world’s most influential. It runs from September 8 to 17.
"I’m in good company. Atom and David are filmmakers I respect and admire deeply, so I feel doubly thrilled," she said.
Egoyan’s "Where the Truth Lies" and Cronenberg’s "A History of Violence", which stars Viggo Mortensen and Ed Harris, will screen as gala presentations.
Both movies were shown in competition at the Cannes festival in May.
"We all know that Cannes is terrific and fun, but this is the real festival ... we go out to Cannes and we play and then we bring it back home, and that’s the screening that’s really the most meaningful to us," said Cronenberg, director of "The Fly", "Naked Lunch" and "Dead Ringers".
