Deepa Mehta's latest offering Bollywood/Hollywood is a significant departure from her earlier, serious films Fire and Earth. A comedy set in Toronto, Bollywood/Hollywood provided her a much-needed break from the controversy and chaos surrounding her previous two films-Fire incensed conservatives because of its love story involving two sisters-in-law while the sets of Water were burned down by Hindu extremists who declared it "anti-India". The current film is also a celebration of Mehta's two homes: India, where she was born in 1950, and Canada, the land she moved to at 28 with her Canadian husband. Mehta currently spends half the year in Canada with her 21-year-old daughter Devyani-who is studying anthropology at Oxford-and the other half in India. Her next film, due out in fall 2003, will further broaden her talents. Mehta calls it her "white film-there are no desis in it". monica mehta gets the director to open up about Bollywood/ Hollywood, her dual identity and the state of serious films in India.

Q. Bollywood/Hollywood seems to be making fun of Bollywood even while exalting it. What was your attitude about it?
A. I think it's a love song to Bollywood. I'm just having fun with it, not making fun at it at all. Whether using Bollywood's melodrama or musical aspects, I was just loving it. It has also got many aspects of both Bollywood and Hollywood. There was no question of making fun of either of the genres but definitely of having fun with them. It was an incredible, great experience shooting the film. Its spirit was looking at both classical western and eastern cinema as represented by Hollywood and Bollywood and embracing both.

Q. What was the idea behind the captions?
A. In India, you find yourself sitting next to a smart alec who knows everything about the movie or what it should say or what it's trying to say. The captions are the smart alec in the audience who always have an editorial comment about everything.

Q. How did you cast Lisa Ray, Rahul Khanna and Akshaye Khanna
A. It was great. When I was writing the script I wanted Rahul to play Rahul. It was a bit more difficult to find Sue. I looked at many actors here and in India. I was looking for somebody who is a hybrid like the film itself. I met Lisa in Mumbai and after talking to her for 20 minutes, I knew she was Sue-it's the body language, it's the way a western woman is confident wearing a dress which is slightly different than an indigenous Indian actor wearing one. And the attitude-Lisa had it. I found out later that she was born and brought up in Canada. With Akshaye, I had heard that Mumbai stars come to many weddings. Wanting to remain true to that trend with this family, I wanted a Mumbai film star to come. Who better than Rahul's brother? And then I wrote Akshaye's line, "Rahul is like a brother to me."

Q. What about the party scene during the end credits?
A. The whole point about the film is that it's all about smoke and mirrors. Nothing is what it appears to be, including the fact that it's not only the characters, the film is made by a whole group of crew members. The people in that scene are the people who made it.

Q. Has your concept of having a dual identity changed with this film?
A. I don't even think of it as an identity. I think of it as two aspects to myself. One is Indian, one is Canadian. It took some time but I'm very comfortable with both of them now. I feel I can draw on both my experiences and what I am is an amalgamation of India and Canada. There is a harmony about both, they aren't in conflict. But now when I find myself being called an NRI or an immigrant, I like it. Whether I do something here or in India, I don't ever have an insider's perspective. It's slightly objective. And for the kind of work I do, it suits me really well.

Q. Have you come closer to your Canadian identity after this film?
A. To be a Canadian-as opposed to being an American-means you can embrace your homeland. When I think of the US, I think of it as being a melting pot, where you're an American first and then you are where you come from. Canada allows you to be where you came from and live here.

Q. You've been categorised in an alternative genre as you've strayed from making traditional Bollywood films. What's your definition of that genre and how did you come to it
A. When I made films in India, it wasn't as somebody who lived in India. I made them from an Indian standpoint influenced by living in the West. So maybe it's diasporic cinema. It's just somebody trying to grapple with many aspects in society-the standing of women, what nationalism means, what it means to be bereaved ... those are universal emotions. I've done them in India because that's the society I grew up with and know best. I feel that if I do films on them, I'll have a better understanding of them. All films at some level are about self-exploration. Whether Fire or Earth or even Water, they dealt with something I wanted to explore, which is social justice.

Q. Why is it so rare to find movies like yours in India?
A. Probably because there's no market for them. I don't know if they do well because people are interested in them or if unnecessary controversy has been set by them.

Q. If filmmakers wishing to make movies on serious, difficult topics in India continue to get the treatment you did with Fire and Water, what is the state of serious film in India?
A. Whether it's Mrinal Sen's new film or Adoor Gopalakrishnan's films, they are still being made. These are serious and fabulous filmmakers who question or explore society or the imposition of religion on human beings.

Q. What are your plans for Water?
A. I certainly hope to make it one day. It's important to me that I get the opportunity to finish the trilogy.

Q. When did you decide you wanted to be a filmmaker?
A. When I was about six years old. I saw my first Hindi film, Mamta, in my father's movie hall in Amritsar. I just fell in love with it. I said, this is it. I wanted to do something that could make people laugh, cry and have a good time-or not.