By Subhash K. Jha, IANS

Deepa Mehta can't get over the overwhelming response to her new film "Water" at the Toronto Film Festival last week.

"They got it....They got the nuances and they embraced (the film)," said the triumphant filmmaker.

Exhausted, her voice caving in with the stress of a multitude of media interviews at the festival, Deepa sees "Water" as a personal triumph.

"It's becoming almost fashionable for every Indian filmmaker to claim that his or her film got a standing ovation. So I'm embarrassed to say it. But 'Water' had the audience in a thrall. Some 3,000 people watched my film in pin-drop silence.

"They just wouldn't move...it was that moving an experience for them. Though they were watching a Hindi film with English subtitles, not once was the language or, for that matter, the ethos and the cultural cross-references lost on the audience. They just went with the emotional flow of the narration, and that's what made the experience so emotional for all of us, Seema Biswas, Lisa Ray, John Abraham...."

Clearly the man of the moment was John Abraham, whose performance as the Gandhian reformist Narayan eager to marry the widow Kalyani (Lisa Ray) wowed the festival audiences.

"They didn't know he's a big star back home. Or that he belonged to the drool school. They just responded to his performance as they would to a newcomer. And John has won them over. I don't know whether he wants to come to Hollywood, but they certainly want him, I can tell you that much," says Deepa.

Pausing to consider her cast, Deepa exclaims, "I'm so glad I went with my instincts, and cast John and Lisa. My well-wishers thought they wouldn't get the historical or cultural references in the script. But they worked their way into the script so beautifully and connected completely with their characters. The audiences at the festival went nuts. While in Toronto we couldn't walk on the streets without one or the other of us running into someone who would burst into tears.

"That's how strong the film's emotional impact is for the audience, and that's how close I feel to this troubled project. Among my films, 'Water' has given me maximum satisfaction, and I feel that's how it's going to be for the audience. What they're reacting to is the theme of humanism. I think the film really hits you where it hurts the most."

Water will be distributed worldwide by Fox Searchlight Pictures. "It has been closed in every territory, except India. I don't know what's happening there. It's entirely up to Ajay Virmani, who owns the Indian rights. It would be such a pity if 'Water' gets left behind in the country of its origin when it releases worldwide in November."

Right now, "Water" has taken off in most unexpected ways. "The screening at the Toronto festival was the first. And it was a dream come true for me...It can only get better now. My next project 'Kamagata Maru' will have to wait for at least two months. Let me enjoy the 'Water' experience right now."