Water - DVD

Synopsis by Bollyuk.com for Water DVD

Chuyia (Sarala) is a young girl who has just lost her husband. She is deposited in the house of Hindu widows (an ashram) to spend the rest of her life in renunciation. There are 14 women who live in the house for Hindu widows, a small, dilapidated two-storey house built around a central courtyard. The women are sent here to expiate bad karma, but more often than not, to relieve their families of financial and emotional burden. The ashram is ruled by Madhumati, a fat and pompous lady in her 70s. Her only friend is the pimp, Gulabi (Raghuvir Yadav), a sprightly hijra (eunuch) and also a hermaphrodite, who not only keeps Madhumati supplied with ganja, but also with the latest gossip. The two also have a side business; Gulabi helps Madhumati to prostitute Kalyani (Lisa Ray). Kalyani is breathtaking, and the only widow whose hair - as a nod to her profession - is not sheen. Shakuntala (Seema Biswas) is perhaps the most enigmatic of the widows. She is good-looking enough, a sharp, dark person with secret black-brown eyes. Her generous mouth has an anger set to it. Even Madhumati leaves her alone. Quiet and reserved, Shakuntala is caught between her hatred of being a widow and her fear of not being one. Shakuntala is a very devout Hindu who seeks the counsel of Sadananda (Khulbushan Kharbanda), a gentle-looking priest in his late forties who recites the scriptures to the pilgrims who throng the ghats of the holy city. Chuyia is convinced that her mother will come to take her away. With that thought firmly tucked in her mind, she quickly adapts to her new life with the unique resilience of children. Madhumati sternly initiates her into widowhood. One day, Kalyani meets a young law graduate, Narayan (John Abraham). Upon meeting Kalyani there is an immediate attraction, but the restriction placed on interaction with widows makes it difficult to find a way of pursuing any kind of relationship. Kalyani, also attracted to Narayan, in deference to tradition tells him to go away as it is a sin to speak with widows. Kalyani cannot get the young man she met at the ghats out of her mind and she begins to refuse to oblige Madhumati and her `clients.' Meanwhile Narayan ponders how he can arrange a clearly forbidden meeting. Narayan finds a way to meet with Kalyani and during a covered buggy ride through the British section of the city, declares his intent to take her away to Calcutta. Kalyani returns to the widows' house and whispers the secret of her wedding plans to Chuyia, who is thrilled at the prospect of a wedding feast where one can eat as many sweets and forbidden food as one desires. One of Chuyia's many tasks is massaging Madhumati's fat legs. This she does by walking along their spongy length. Brimming over with the suppressed secret of the imminent marriage and all the puri that she will eat, she blurts out the couple's secret to Madhumati, and all hell breaks loose at the house for Hindu widows. Suddenly Kalyani's resistance to being ferried across the waters by Madhumati's pimp makes sense. Not only has Madhumati lost a source of income, but also the disgrace of a widow's re-marriage will doom them all to seven lifetimes of being re-born as jackals. Madhumati menacingly enters Kalyani's isolated hovel, throws her to the floor, shears her long black hair and locks her up until she `comes to her senses'. Shakuntala, over the protests of the other widows, unlocks the door to Kalyani's room. It's a quiet act of rebellion that leaves everyone speechless. A liberated Kalyani walks out of the house, Madhumati's booming voice following her. Kalyani bathes in the ghats, washing away the cruel face of her tormentor, and walks to the small deserted temple where Narayan is waiting for her. Narayan tenderly explores her sheen hair and in a whisper asks her once again if she will marry him. Narayan takes Kalyani to his parents house but upon reaching his father's hovel, Kalyani begins to recognize the gates of the portico and asks Narayan for the full name of his father. He replies and is perplexed when Kalyani demands that he turn the boat around. What then follows will forever change their lives, and the life of little Chuyia.