The Indian Angelina Jolie?
It is no big deal that major Canadian newspapers, including Toronto Star, run long stories on Lisa Ray from time to time. After all, she was born in Toronto. Besides, the two important films this Polish-Bengali model has worked on so far have been directed by long-time Toronto resident, Deepa Mehta.
But it is quite a big deal for Ray, who plays a young widow consigned to an ashram in Mehta's critically acclaimed hit Water, that she is getting quite a lot of buzz across America.
In Chicago Tribune, Michael Wilmington who gave Water three and half stars out of four, wrote: "The sight of Kalyani's sweet, resigned expression, surrounded by a world of pain, imprints her face and fate on our minds, sets a blaze of love and rage in our hearts."
The Philadelphia Inquirer, which gave the film four stars out of four, called Ray "ethereally beautiful," though it also added a strange observation: "...not for nothing known as the Indian Angelina Jolie."
The review, which also had some of its best comments reserved for the 8-year old widow (newcomer Sarala) and Seema Biswas, added: "When jaw-droppingly beautiful Kalyani meets heart-stoppingly handsome Brahmin Narayan (John Abraham), an idealistic follower of Gandhi, she no longer feels unworthy."
Text: Arthur J Pais | Design: Uday Kuckian