Deepa Mehta's Water is an emotive gush of intensity, spraying you with decent cinema and good performances at a measured pace that you're bound to appreciate. At the heart of it all is a soul-stabbing story, and like most wonderfully recounted narratives, it trickles away - but not before leaving a lasting impact on the viewer.

Set in pre-independent Varanasi, eight-year old Chuyia (played by child artiste Sarla) is sent to the widow's ashram after her husband's death, immediately post-marriage. While she nurtures resolute belief of return to her mother, the audience quietly gets an insight into 'normal' life at the ashram through Chuyia's eyes, managed by the arrogant, over-sized Madhumati (Manorama). One amongst many eschewed widows, Chuyia questions every directive at the ashram, her ignorance coupled with rebellion finding critics and foes, while her innocence finds her few friends, in particular, the lovely Kalyani (Lisa Ray) and the dedicated Shakuntala (Seema Biswas).

Inadvertently, Chuyia and Kalyani run into Narayan (John Abraham), a fresh law-school graduate, firmly rooted in the Gandhian ideals of equality amongst castes. This, topped with the idea of an independent nation. Unhurriedly, he falls for the pretty widow, who defies the ashram's traditionally restrictive crust with her sparkling long hair. Before long, Narayan announces his intent to wed Kalyani, stirring hope for the rejected widow.

Kalyani, meanwhile, houses a sinister secret - the eunuch Gulabi (Raghuvir Yadav) regularly delivers the attractive widow to the local Seth's house, for his personal pleasure. Instructed and architected by Madhumati, she convinces the others that this horrific act helps the ashram's funding. While little Chuyia is unaware of this dark reality, the older Shakuntala remains helpless, moral support being all she can offer to the exploited Kalyani.

As Gandhi's ideas continue to grow popular, the rest of the movie revolves on how it fuels them to break out of the oppressive shell of social rejection. The focus slowly shifts away from Chuyia to Kalyani, who decides to elope with Narayan, with the hope of living in marital bliss. What awaits them, though, is what must be seen, and no review can unearth it without doing injustice to this work of cinematic brilliance.

Serene camerawork and penetrative music are the unsung heroes of this movie, that clearly strides ahead on the intensity of the plot and the cast's performances. John Abraham delivers yet another charming act, and Lisa Ray chunks out a surprisingly powerful performance, testifying Mehta's ability to extract nothing short of the best from her cast, although Bollywood Hollywood stands out as a prominent adversary to her directorial skills. Raghuvir Yadav is predictably remarkable in a difficult role to play, as the rest of the cast are up to the mark. The real kudos, however, ought to be shared by the sheer energetic innocence that Sarla brings to the screen, and the flawless performance that Seema Biswas comes up with. Sarla's Chuyia scales the heights of childish rebellion, only to be mellowed down by Biswas' Shakuntala with her wiser, mature and more devout approach. Together, they make Water work for the international audience it caters to, leaving lasting imprints in the national viewers as well.

Forget the Oscars - this one's a tribute to the women of this region that undergo unforgivable social ignorance concealed behind the veil of tradition. 4/5 for Mehta's ability to skillfully narrate a harsh reality that continues to prevail in independent India.