Earth, Fire, and Water

so this weekend i finished my long awaited viewing of the deepa mehta trilogy - earth, fire, and water. i must say that my favorite was water as far as its emotional impact. earth really did wrench my guts. fire was a bit odd, yet fit into the director's overall message.

i think one of the quotes in the movie water was that only Gandhiji was a man who listened to his subconscious - his atma - and engaged in action. imagine if more people did that. water was an amazing film. the work of the little girl - chuyia as a widowed child was endearing and impacting. lisa ray was ravishing and this drove in the point - she too had been widowed as a child and yet is forced to spend the rest of her life a widow, a prostitute, devoid of any natural love or respect from the society that walks by her and countless other widows everyday. of course the movie was set in the past, but things have not quite changed today. more needs to be done.

earth just reminds us that man is capable of much misery. yes the british divided india. but the indians (hindus and muslims) divided each other. is religion to blame? are the british to blame? or as aamir khan's character points out - is there an animal in all of us that is just waiting to leap out? is man that predisposed to violence against his own?

fire was certainly off the beaten path. while i could not much relate to this movie, i think it drove the point home - people can be ignorant and uneducated which breeds blind traditions without regard to whom it benefits or harms.

all these movies do an excellent job in igniting one's passions and beliefs. no wonder deepa mehta had so many problems filming the movies. its movies like these that people can learn from and improve themselves to ensure movies like these one day will not have to be made. indians have much to be proud of, but don't be fooled that it rises above other cultures far superior in every respect.