lisa ray Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Canadian actress Lisa Ray has had a very busy couple of years. After starring in 2002's Bollywood/Hollywood, directed by Deepa Mehta, Ray filmed Ball & Chain in 2004, Water (Canada's entry for Best Foreign Film, also directed by Mehta) and Seeking Fear in 2005, and Quarter Life Crisis and A Stone's Throw in 2006. A Stone's Throw, the directorial debut of producer Camelia Frieberg, played at the Toronto International Film Festival, where Ray graciously sat down with Cinematical to talk about the film and what's up next for her. Ray had just flown in the night before, to catch the end of the fest and spend some downtime visiting her parents in Toronto.

When environmental activism crosses the line into eco-terrorism, has the activist become as bad as the corporations he's fighting against? In A Stone's Throw, investigative photojournalist Jack Walker (Kris Holden-Reid) shows up unexpectedly at his sister's house in a rural town in Nova Scotia after a seven-year absence. What his sister Olivia (Kathryn MacLellan) and her ex-husband Jean-Marc (Hugh Thompson) most want to know is this: Is Jack really there just to see the family he hasn't seen in so long and to renew old ties? Or is he there working on the story about the mining company that's reopened a long-closed mine to do cyanide leaching, offering the community over 100 much-needed jobs? Or perhaps to investigate the chemical plant where Jean-Marc himself works?

What makes Jack's situation even more difficult is that he's been diagnosed with a genetic, progressive and incurable retinal disease that will ultimately render him completely blind. Even now, this man who has spent a lifetime's work capturing the effects of pollution by corporations through his camera lens is seeing the world through an increasingly small aperture. Adding to the tension is Jean-Marc and Olivia's son teenage son Thomas (Aaron Webber), who idolizes Jack and is, himself, a budding environmentalist and investigative journalist. When the police come looking for Jack at Olivia's house, Thomas learns that his uncle is wanted by the FBI for eco-terrorism, and everyone begins to question Jack's intentions -- especially Jack himself.

1996 was the year that filmmaker Deepa Mehta released Fire, a film about a lesbian relationship in modern India. It was the first part of her element trilogy -- poking a stick at various 'elements' of Indian traditionalism -- and after its first screening in an Indian theater, rioters burned that theater to the ground. The second part of the trilogy, Earth, explored the fractious relationship between India and Pakistan, and got a similar reception. In February 2000, Mehta began filming the concluding chapter, Water, which points a finger at the Hindu tradition of shunning widows. Such was the atmosphere that the film crew had to be escorted to the set every day by anti-riot brigades.

The director was burned in effigy and editorials were published advocating that she be beaten "black and blue." A well-organized mob of enraged Hindu activists, backed by powerful political parties, finally attacked and destroyed the film's sets, forcing a costly relocation out of India and a long delay in shooting. [Note to fans of V for Vendetta -- this is controversial filmmaking.] The Indian government's withdrawal of support for Water in the face of violence caused outrage among filmmakers worldwide. George Lucas famously took out a full-page ad in Variety, threatening never to work in India.

Water was ultimately finished under a cloak of secrecy in Sri Lanka, with a new cast that included Indian-Canadian actress Lisa Ray in a leading role. Sometimes referred to as the 'Indian Angelina Jolie,' Lisa is a world-renowned beauty and former model who first got noticed in the film Bollywood/Hollywood, a jab at the existential silliness of Bollywood musicals. Her role in Water, as a young widow facing horrendous discrimination, is a dive into the deep end of the pool of social criticism cinema. Cinematical recently spoke with Lisa about Water.

Ryan: As you know, there was a good deal of controversy surrounding the making of this film. The production ended once in disaster when the sets were burned and trashed by Hindu fanatics who perceived the film's message as anti-Hindu. What's your general take on all of that?

LR: I wasn't involved when Deepa made the first attempt, but it was so well-publicized that I was well aware of it. Then Deepa sent me the script. She sent it under a working title -- she didn't tell me what it was. It had some really cheesy title like River Moon or something like that. As soon as I read it and realized it was Water I just thought 'wow,' what a privilege it would be to be a part of this. If anything, the controversy surrounding it was an even more compelling reason to be a part of it. It's the triumph of the artistic, or the human spirit, over fundamentalist forces. I think that's the only way it affected me -- it only made me more determined to be part of the project. Of course, I would have wanted to be a part of this project on its own merits.

Few filmmakers will ever undergo what Deepa Mehta went through to see Water, the last film of her elemental trilogy, to fruition. After raising the ire of Hindu fundamentalists with her films Fire (about two sisters-in-law in loveless marriages who embark on a lesbian relationship) and Earth (about the uneasy relationship between India and Pakistan), Mehta initially set out to film Water in India. The Uttar Pradesh government initially provided security for the film, but following violent protests and repeated death threats against Mehta, the government pulled its support, on the grounds it could not ensure Mehta's safety. Years later, Mehta made a fresh start under a veil of secrecy in neighboring Sri Lanka, filming under the fake title of Full Moon, with a new cast and with no publicity, in order to minimize conflict. When a director goes through all that to make a film, one hopes the end result will be startlingly good, and Water, fortunately, does not disappoint.