Canadian
NRI filmmaker Deepa Mehta to be honoured at IIFA
Yorkshire, UK, June 09, 2007
Satnam Singh
Today, the three day "International Indian Film Academy
Awards (IIFA)" have begun in Yorkshire, UK. The Canadian
director Deepa Mehta will be honoured for her remarkable work
as a NRI director in a number of films.
IIFA is an academy with goal to promote Indian cinema globally.
IIFA also organizes yearly awards and film weeks in a particular
country to promote the Hindi Films and celebrate best movie, best
director, best actor, best actress and other major award segments.
Lifetime achievement awards are also presented to honor creative
and/or technical excellence towards growth of Indian cinema.
NRI Deepa Mehta, Award-winning director whose film 'Water' was
short-listed for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Film, have finally
come to terms with the NRI label. After many protests and threats
of violence from various political/religious parties in India
, the filming was stopped. Later the film was shot and completed
in Sri Lanka, instead of Varanasi.
For the past few months, she has been looking after her widowed
mother at her farm near Toronto because her father passed away.
According to IANS report:
"No work at all. Just looking after my mom."
"Though I wouldn't want to attend any public event for a
long time this is an honour I can't disregard. Firstly, because
I'm being recognised for my work by my country where I was made
to feel unwelcome by a small section of the people during the
making of 'Water'. And secondly, how can I say no to Mr. Bachchan?"
I got a beautiful letter from Mr. Amitabh Bachchan inviting me
to the IIFA awards.
'The most interesting part of IIFA is that I get to meet filmmakers
from India. I just attended a symposium on Satyajit Ray with Rituparno
Ghosh and others. It was just so satisfying,' said Mehta, who
is attending the IIFA Weekend for the first time.
Mehta is touched and amused. 'All my career I've fought the label
of the NRI director. And now when I'm being honoured by my own
movie industry, I've finally come to terms with the NRI label,'
Mehta said from Yorkshire.
