Heaven on Earth (2008 film)

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Heaven on Earth
Heaven On Earth.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Deepa Mehta
Written byDeepa Mehta
Produced byDeepa Mehta
Ravi Chopra
David Hamilton
Starring Preity Zinta
Vansh Bhardwaj
Cinematography Giles Nuttgens
Edited byColin Monie
Music by Mychael Danna
Hari & Sukhmani (folk song: Kangi Bawan)
Distributed byHamilton-Mehta Productions Inc.
National Film Board of Canada
Release date
  • 24 October 2008 (2008-10-24)
Running time
106 min
CountriesCanada
India
LanguageEnglish

Heaven on Earth a.k.a. Videsh is a 2008 Canadian film directed and written by Deepa Mehta. Preity Zinta plays the leading role of Chand, a young Indian Punjabi woman who finds herself in an abusive arranged marriage with an Indo-Canadian man, played by theatre actor Vansh Bhardwaj. The film released in India dubbed into Hindi under the title Videsh. Zinta received unanimous acclaim for her performance in both Canada and India.

Contents

Plot

Vibrant Chand is a young bride leaving her home in Ludhiana, Punjab, India, for Brampton, Ontario, Canada, where her husband Rocky and his very traditional family await her arrival. Everything is new and unfamiliar to Chand including the quiet and shy Rocky who she meets for the first time at the Arrivals level of Pearson Airport. Chand approaches her new life and land with equanimity and grace, and at times the wide-eyed optimism of hope—her first snowfall is a tiny miracle of beauty, and the roar of Niagara Falls creates the excitement of new beginnings.

But soon optimism turns to isolation as the family she has inherited struggles beneath the weight of unspoken words, their collective frustration becoming palpable. No one feels the pressure more than Rocky, weighed down by familial obligations. Maji, his controlling mother, won't let him go; Papaji, is a sweet but ineffectual father; Aman, his sister, who feels the embarrassment of living in the same house with her unemployed husband Baldev, their teenaged son Jabir and younger daughter, Lovleen. All live with Rocky and Chand in a two-bedroom house in the suburbs of Toronto. To make matters worse, Rocky is expected to find the money to bring more of his new extended family to Canada. Unable to express his anger, he finds other ways to release it and it's Chand who bears the brunt of his repressed rage.

Trapped in a world she cannot comprehend and unable to please her husband, Chand is desperate. Hope comes in the form of Rosa, a tough and savvy Jamaican woman who works alongside Chand in a factory where immigrant women from all over the world clean and press dirty hotel laundry. Rosa sees past the make-up that covers Chand's bruised face. Realizing Chand has nowhere to turn, Rosa gives her a magical root advising her "to put it in whatever the bastard drinks." The root is supposed to seduce the one who takes it, making them fall hopelessly in love with the person who gives it to them. Chand's attempts with the magic root lead to surreal incidents and her life gradually begins to mirror an Indian fable involving a King Cobra. As the lines between fantasy and reality converge, Chand and Rocky come face to face with each other and themselves. Eventually, Chand comprehends all the surreal episodes in her life and upon separation from her husband decides to go back to India.

Cast

Production

Deepa Mehta penned the screenplay in 2007. [1] She met Preity Zinta at the 2007 International Indian Film Academy Awards and offered her the role of a Punjabi housewife. Initially, Zinta could not commit to the project due to schedule conflicts, but they were worked out and Zinta signed on to play the role. [1] Seema Biswas, who was part of Mehta's previous project Water was also chosen to be part of the cast, [2] but she eventually did not act. Mehta, who saw The Last Lear (2007) starring Zinta in the lead female role, said "I think Preity is perfect!". Yet she organized an acting workshop for Zinta in Toronto, which Zinta attended in September "to understand and come to grips with the character's milieu and body language. I think Preity can look very, very Punjabi." said Mehta. [1]

Principal photography for Heaven on Earth commenced in November 2007 and concluded at the end of December 2007. The film was primarily shot in Toronto and Brampton, [3] Canada, with additional location shooting in Punjab, India, where it was completed. [4] [5] [6] For the film, the folktronic duo Hari & Sukhmani produced the folk song Kangi Bawan . [7]

Reception

The film was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, the Edmonton International Film Festival, and the Kingston Canadian Film Festival. It was released in select Canadian theatres on 24 October 2008 to generally mixed reviews, but full praise for Zinta's performance. The Vancouver Sun wrote, "Bollywood star Zinta and her Canadian co-star Bhardwaj are nothing short of genius". [8] According to S. James Wegg, Chand is "beautifully created by Preity Zinta who grows with the role that few her age could master". [9] Variety wrote "Zinta, who appears in nearly every scene … undertake[s] a stunning psychological transformation". [10] Wendy Mitchell of Screen Daily noted, Zinta ... poignantly plays against the ‘cool-chick’ persona for which she is renowned on the Bollywood circuit." [11] Will Sloan of Exclaim! magazine wrote, "Her performance here is a revelation, infusing her role with surprising depth and pathos." [12] [13] Susan G. Cole praised the film, calling it "a film that has real power". [14]

In India the film generated little notice or discussion and received mostly negative reviews upon release, though Preity Zinta was universally praised for her portrayal, which several critics considered her best. Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com rated the film 2/5 stars, concluding, "Watch Videsh for Preity Zinta". [15]

Awards

Won
Nominated

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References

  1. 1 2 3 K Jha, Subhash (26 September 2007).Deepa Mehta signs Preity for Heaven On Earth. indiaFM.com. Accessed 1 October 2007.
  2. ↑ CBC news (7 September 2007). Mehta set to shoot feature Heaven on Earth. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Accessed 1 October 2007.
  3. ↑ "Mehta's film resonates with Indian women". The Star. Toronto. 4 November 2008. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  4. ↑ TNN (8 December 2007). Preity cries for home. Times of India. Accessed 13 December 2007.
  5. ↑ ApunKaChoice (27 December 2007). "Preity Zinta in Punjab for 'Heaven On Earth'". Archived from the original on 4 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
  6. ↑ Indo-Asian News Service (22 January 2008). "Deepa Mehta loves 'excessive work'". Hindustan Times . Archived from the original on 15 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
  7. ↑ "Home's where heaven is". 26 March 2009.
  8. ↑ Monk, Katherine. "Heaven on Earth an eloquent portrayal of a family in trouble". The Vancouver Sun . Archived from the original on 27 October 2008. Retrieved 15 July 2020. Bollywood star Zinta and her Canadian co-star Bhardwaj are nothing short of genius
  9. ↑ Wegg, S. James (9 October 2008). "Like mother like son". www.jamesweggreview.org. JWR. Retrieved 15 July 2020. Chand ... beautifully created by Preity Zinta who grows with the role that few her age could master
  10. ↑ Debruge, Peter (7 September 2008). "Heaven on Earth". Variety. Retrieved 15 July 2020. Cut off from her family and trapped within a system of willing accomplices, Chand becomes a different person in the States — an opportunity for the beautiful Zinta, who appears in nearly every scene, to undertake a stunning psychological transformation.
  11. ↑ Mitchell, Wendy (7 September 2008). "Heaven On Earth". Screen. Retrieved 15 July 2020. She has a compelling vessel for the bereft and bemused Chand in Zinta, who poignantly plays against the 'cool-chick' persona for which she is renowned on the Bollywood circuit.
  12. ↑ Sloan, Will (2008). "Heaven On Earth". Exclaim! . Archived from the original on 13 April 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2020. Her performance here is a revelation, infusing her role with surprising depth and pathos.
  13. ↑ Howell, Peter (24 October 2008). "Heaven on Earth: Magic in Mehta's message". Toronto Star . Archived from the original on 28 October 2008. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  14. ↑ Cole, Susan G. (22 October 2008). "Heaven on Earth". NOW Magazine . Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  15. ↑ Verma, Sukanya (2009-03-27). "Watch Videsh for Preity Zinta" . Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  16. ↑ "Chicago International Film Festival". Chicagofilmfestival.org. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  17. ↑ "Stardust Awards 2010 Nominations". Bollywood Hungama. January 18, 2010. Archived from the original on 7 March 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
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