Covering Bollywood and the Hindi Cinema

Deepa Mehta in a recent interview drew parallels between John Abraham and the brilliant Aamir Khan. She admits that Aamir and she didn't get along during the making of 1947: Earth.

"Aamir felt I wasn't allowing him to interpret the role properly. Today, after the release of Water, there's a huge revival of interest in Earth. John surrendered to my interpretation of his character unquestioningly. Aamir wasn't happy doing the role the way I wanted to. Aamir's performance is being widely noticed. I think Earth came too soon," Mehta.

One of the first people to call Mehta after Water made it to the Oscars' shortlist was John.

"He was as excited as a school kid. Frankly, I'm also ecstatic." Mehta had said. "I can't believe 'Water' has come so far. It's actually made it to the final five nominations! What really makes me happy is the competition. This year's other nominations are of an exceptionally high calibre."

Prior to the event Mehta said, "It's a Canadian film. But it's in Hindi and therefore as Indian as it's Canadian. Will it finally win? I don't know. The fact that I'll be able to walk the red carpet at the Oscars with 'Water' and its cast is enough for me. I never thought 'Water' would come so far. This was a film that almost didn't get made."