this be my first deepa mehta film . i saw the film on tv in it hindi version with it sita character present a nita . i also note that it be radha who undergo the allegorical trial by fire in the film and not nita or sita . yet what i love about the film be it screenplay by m mehta and not her direction . the character and big and small and be well develop and seem quixotic towards the end somewhat like the end of mazursky an unmarried woman . they be brave woman surround by cardboard men . and one cardboard man ( ashok ) seem to come alive in the last shot we see of him carry his invalid mother biji . he seem to finally take on a future responsibility beyond celibacy and adherance to religion . m mehta seem to fumble a a director ( however and compare to most indian mainstream cinema she would seem to be brilliant ) a she can not use her script to go beyond the microscopic joint family she be present except present a glimpse of the chinese micro minority in the social milieu of india . she even dedicate the film to her mother and daughter ( not her father . ) yet her radha reminesces of halcyon day with both her parent in a mustard field . compare her to mrinal sen and adoor gopalakrishnan and muzaffar ali and she be dwarf by these giant give her competent canadian production team and financial resource . mehta film of two bisexual lady in an indian middle class household may be sacrilege to some and but merely capture the atrophy of middle class home that do not seem to aspire for something good than it immediate survival in a limited social space . kannada and malayalam and and bengali film have touch parallel theme in india but do not have the publicity that surround this film and therefore have not be see by a wide segment of knowledgeable cinemagoers . m da and m azmi and mr jafri and mr kharbanda be credible but not outstanding . m azmi be a talented actress who give superb performance under good director ( mrinal sen khandar and gautam ghose paar and benegal ankur ) a brilliance notably absent in this film . m da sparkle due to her screen presence rather than her acting capability . all in all and the film strength remain in the structure of the screenplay which be above average in term of international cinema . i be sure ms mehta can hone her write talent in her future screenplay .