Deepa MehtaDeepa Mehta, OCOOnt (; born 15 September 1950) is an Indian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter, best known for her Elements trilogy, Fire (1996), Earth (1998), and Water (2005), the last being nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards.
Partition of IndiaThe partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Pakistan is the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the People's Republic of Bangladesh. The partition involved the division of two provinces, Bengal and the Punjab, based on district-wide non-Muslim (mostly Hindu and Sikh) or Muslim majorities.
Cracking IndiaCracking India (1991, U.S., 1992, India; originally published as Ice Candy Man, 1988, England) is a novel by author Bapsi Sidhwa. SummarySetting: LahoreTime: 1943 - 1948 This novel is generally referred to as a story about the Partition of India – hence the title – but its original title was "Ice-Candy-Man," which allows for a broader interpretation of the story.
Nandita DasNandita Das (born 7 November 1969) is an Indian actress and director. She has acted in over 40 feature films in ten different languages. Das appeared in the films Fire (1996), Earth (1998), Bawandar (2000), Kannathil Muthamittal (2002), Azhagi (2002),Kamli (2006), and Before The Rains (2007). Her directorial debut Firaaq (2008), premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and travelled to more than 50 festivals, winning more than 20 awards.Elements trilogyThe Elements trilogy of films by Indo-CanadianfilmmakerDeepa Mehta deals with controversial issues of social reform on the Indian subcontinent. Fire, the first release in 1996, dealt with issues of arranged marriage and homosexuality in the patriarchal culture of India. Earth, released in 1998, dealt with the religious strife associated with the partition of India and the formation of Pakistan in the mid-20th century.
Water (2005 film)Water (Hindi: जल, romanized: Jal) is a 2005 drama film written and directed by Deepa Mehta, with screenplay by Anurag Kashyap. It is set in 1938 and explores the lives of widows at an ashram in India. The film is also the third and final installment of Mehta's Elements trilogy. It was preceded by Fire (1996) and Earth (1998). Author Bapsi Sidhwa wrote the 2006 novel based upon the film, Water: A Novel, published by Milkweed Press.
LahoreCapital of Punjab, PakistanMegacity in Punjab, PakistanLahore is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Punjab. It is the second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and 27th largest in the world, with a population of over 14 million. Lahore is one of Pakistan's major industrial, educational and economic hubs.
Rahul KhannaRahul Khanna (born 20 June 1972) is an Indian actor, VJ, model and writer who works in Bollywood. He is the eldest son of actor Vinod Khanna and the elder brother of Akshaye Khanna.Fire (1996 film)Fire is a 1996 English-language romantic drama film written and directed by Deepa Mehta, starring Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das. An Indo-Canadian co-production, it is the first installment of Mehta's Elements trilogy; it is succeeded by Earth (1998) and Water (2005). The film is loosely based on Ismat Chughtai's 1942 story, "Lihaaf" ("The Quilt").
Bapsi SidhwaBapsi Sidhwa (Urdu: بیپسی سدھوا; 11 August 1938 – 25 December 2024) was a Pakistani novelist who wrote in English and was resident in the United States. Sidhwa was best known for her collaborative work with Indo-Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta: Sidhwa wrote both the 1991 novel Ice Candy Man which served as the basis for Mehta's 1998 film Earth as well as the 2006 novel Water: A Novel, on which Mehta's 2005 film Water is based.
Academy Award for Best International Feature FilmThe Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States with a predominantly non-English dialogue track.
Romance filmRomance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey through dating, courtship or marriage is featured. These films focus on the search for romantic love as the main plot focus.
Drama (film and television)In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrativefiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-genre, macro-genre, or micro-genre, such as soap opera, police crime drama, political drama, legal drama, historical drama, domestic drama, teen drama, and comedy drama (dramedy).*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.