Deepa Mehta
Photo: Dilip Mehta

Deepa Mehta site

Deepa Mehta with author Bapsi Sidhwa on the set of "Earth." Bapsi's "Cracking India" is the book on which the movie is based.
Read more about Bapsi at her Web site

Deepa Mehta was born in Amritsar, India. She received a degree in philosophy from the University of New Delhi, and emigrated to Canada in 1973. She began her film career writing scripts for children's films, and has worked as an editor, producer and director. Her television work includes "Danger Bay," "Inside Stories" and "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles." In 1985, she directed TRAVELLING LIGHT: THE PHOTOJOURNALISM OF DILIP MEHTA, a one-hour television special on one of the top photojournalists in the world. The film was shot on location in Japan, France, England, the United States, India, and Canada. It received three Gemini nominations (Canada's Emmy Award equivalent) and a Finalist Award at the 1987 New York International Film and Television Festival.

In 1987, Mehta produced and co-directed the television film MARTHA, RUTH & EDIE, which screened at the Cannes International Film Festival in 1988 and later won the Best Feature Film Award at the 11th International Women's Film Festival in Florence, Italy. Mehta's 1988 television drama INSIDE STORIES received a Gemini nomination for Best Performance by a Lead Actress. Mehta's feature film debut SAM AND ME (1991) earned an Honorable Mention for the Golden Camera award at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1994, Mehta directed CAMILLA (1994), starring Jessica Tandy, Bridget Fonda and Hume Cronym. FIRE, her third feature, was the opening night film of the Perspective Canada program at the Toronto International Film Festival. It had its U.S. premiere at the 1996 New York Film Festival where it received standing ovations.

Mehta's newest film EARTH premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 1998. It will be released by Zeitgeist Films in 1999.

About "Earth"

EARTH, is the latest film by Deepa Mehta, who dazzled audiences in 1997 with her taboo busting romance FIRE. The second installment of Mehta's trilogy (WATER is currently in pre-production) is even more provocative, an impeccably crafted melding of political and personal themes, which achieves epic scope while still resonating on an intimate, emotional level. EARTH is set in Lahore, India in 1947 when the country was on the brink of emancipation from Britain and violence and social upheaval threatened to split the country apart. The film will open in New York at the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas and the Quad Cinema on September 10, followed by a national release by Zeitgeist Films.

At the center of this richly dramatic tale is Lenny (Maia Sethna), an eight-year-old Parsee girl growing up in a wealthy, nonpartisan family. Stricken by polio, Lenny is cared for by an entourage of friends and relatives, most notably her charming nanny Shanta (Nandita Das of FIRE). But these relationships are soon to be devastated by the massive, impending relatives, most notably her charming nanny Shanta (Nandita Das of FIRE). But these relationships are soon to be devastated by the massive, impending political rift that will result in vicious bloodshed between Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus when India regains self-rule from Britain. Somehow, amid the carnage and terror, a love affair blossoms between Shanta and one of her many suitors, a peace advocating Muslim, Hassan (Rahul Khanna). Also vying for Shanta's heart is the Ice Candy Man (Hindi film superstar Aamir Khan), who undergoes a chilling metamorphosis as a result of the chaos, and will stop at nothing to exact his personal vengeance. Shanta and Hassan cannot protect Lenny from the conflict surrounding her and she becomes a pawn in a cruel game that ultimately robs her of her innocence.

Director Deepa Mehta seamlessly weaves the various layers of this moving film into a complex whole where societal upheaval and mass violence coexist with the tenderest elements of human experience, manifested in the film's passionate love story.

In addition to directing the film, Mehta served as co-producer and adapted the screenplay from novelist Bapsi Sidhwa's semi-autobiography "Cracking India."

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