This is not the first time Mehta has courted controversy. The 50-year-old director, who is based in Toronto, has made a habit of tweaking Subcontinental sensibilities. “Water”–a 1930s story that throws light on the practice of Hindu families abandoning their widows in Varanasi, forcing them into a life of neglect and misery–was conceived as the last part of a trilogy. “Fire,” the first film, which contained scenes of lesbian love, also enraged Hindu fanatics. They attacked theaters showing it in Mumbai and Delhi. Mehta had wanted to film the second movie, “Earth,” in Pakistan. It recalls the partition of the Subcontinent through the eyes of a girl. Pakistani officials refused her request. The violent response to “Water” has cost the movie’s financial backers $650,000. For days, extremists roamed the streets of Varanasi, forcing the Indo-Canadian production crew to take refuge in their hotel. “We have done everything according to law,” says Azmi, who is also a member of the Indian Parliament. “Yet we’re being punished, and lawbreakers are moving about freely.”

Many Indians are outraged by the violence–and by the fact that several of the protestors are members of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which leads the country’s governing coalition. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who leads the BJP, advocates religious tolerance. But many in his flock still think that raking up sectarian issues is good politics. The attack has jeopardized not only “Water”; it has raised doubts about the future of India-based cultural projects. “This could send out an utterly negative signal to all film makers and foreign investors about the impracticality of investing in India,” says movie critic Subhash K. Jha.

To appease the protestors, Mehta rushed back to New Delhi and, after cutting a few “objectionable” words from the script, got fresh approval to start shooting. It didn’t help. Extremists last week held protest marches and threw rocks at the crew. That was the last straw; she pulled out of Varanasi. The production will be moved to another Indian state when suitable filming locations are found. “I’m determied to make my film in India,” she says. “There is a larger question of artistic freedom in this horrific experience.”