Water

2005 1h 55m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

🔥

90%

CERTIFIED FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.6

IMDB

★6.8TMDB · 128🍅90%Rotten Tomatoes●77Metacritic★7.6IMDB · 15,660

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 1938, Mahatma Gandhi's groundbreaking philosophies sweep across India, but 8-year-old Chuyia, newly widowed, must go reside with other outcast widows on an ashram. Her presence transforms the ashram as she befriends two of her compatriots.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Seema Biswas
Shakuntala
Lisa Ray
Kalyani
John Abraham
Narayan
Sarala
Chuyia
Manorama
Madhumati
Vidula Javalgekar
'Auntie' Patiraji
Raghubir Yadav
Gulabi
Kulbhushan Kharbanda
Sadananda

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Deepa Mehta
Writers: Deepa Mehta
Languages: Hindi
Countries: Canada, India

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 21 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Canada, India.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Part of the "Elements Trilogy" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Deepa Mehta, shot by Giles Nuttgens. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by A.R. Rahman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Colin Monie shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Seema Biswas and Lisa Ray and John Abraham carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0240200 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Deepa Mehta directs. Giles Nuttgens behind the camera. A.R. Rahman scores. Colin Monie cuts. Produced in Canada, India. Dialogue in Hindi.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 21 years ago.
2International production across 2 countries: Canada, India.
3Part of the "Elements Trilogy" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Deepa Mehta, shot by Giles Nuttgens. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by A.R. Rahman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Colin Monie shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Seema Biswas and Lisa Ray and John Abraham carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt0240200 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 8 themes, including "widow", "site of pilgrimage", "hinduism", "mahatma gandhi".
10Released under 12 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Giles Nuttgens
Original score: A.R. Rahman
Editing: Colin Monie
Costume design: Dolly Ahluwalia
Makeup / hair: Hermantha Gamage
Sound: Andrew Tay
Stunt coordinator: Teddy Vidyalankara
Runtime: 115 min · 1h 55m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $10,422,387
Original language: EN
IMDB: Water (2005)
Rotten Tomatoes: 90% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 77/100
IMDB rating: 7.6/10 · 15,660 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. 17 wins & 18 nominations total

Part of

Elements Trilogy

The Elements Trilogy is a series of three films by Indo-Canadian director Deepa Mehta: Fire (1996), Earth (1998), and Water (2005), which explore controversial social issues in India, focusing on the experiences of women. The films tackle themes like arranged marriage and homosexuality (Fire), the trauma of the Partition (Earth), and the plight of widows (Water). They are known for their powerful storytelling and for addressing taboo subjects within a patriarchal society.