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...for her choice of subject matter. Her films have dealt with racism (her first feature, Sam & Me); a love affair between two women of different generations (Fire); the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, the most contentious event in modern Indian history (in her epic Earth); and the conflict between old-world traditions and new--world freedoms in Toronto's contemporary Indo--Canadian community (both Bollywood/Hollywood and Sam & Me).
That said, it's almost always been impossible to separate controversy from preconception and/or prejudice in Mehta's case. Hearing the furor around some of her films isn't the same as actually seeing it. Upon viewing the films, it becomes painfully obvious that it's not Mehta's usually even--handed, thoughtful treatment of the issues she addresses that's the problem, but the fact that she's dared to address them at all.
Her most controversial work remains Water, however. The film was originally set to be shot in Benares, India, but the production was shut down in 2000 when Hindu fundamentalists rioted and trashed the set. Reportedly, they were incensed by the film's subject matter--the treatment of widows in India--although there were also allegations that local politicians were demanding a share in the film's revenue and has stirred up the fundamentalists when their requests...
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