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Deepa will meet Basu on Thursday

Zakia Maryam in Calcutta

A little perturbed by the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry's decision to look at the script of Water afresh in view of its proposed shooting in Madhya Pradesh or West Bengal, filmmaker Deepa Mehta has confirmed her arrival in Calcutta on Thursday to meet Chief Minister Jyoti Basu.

Talking to rediff.com Home Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya said he had spoken to Deepa over the phone on Tuesday.

''During our telephonic discussion Deepa said that she had recuperated from a viral attack and was fit to undertake a trip to Calcutta on Thursday. She will meet both the CM and me in order to chalk out a shooting schedule for Water," he added.

Deepa was earlier scheduled to visit Calcutta on February 18. However, she had to cancel her plan at the last moment after she took ill.

Basu and his Left Front have been scathing in their criticism of the "acts of vandalism and cultural terrorism" perpetrated by the members of the Sangh Parivar in Varanasi recently.

Deepa's sets on the ghats of Ganga were destroyed by some activists of the Sangh Parivar objecting to ''distorted portrayal of Hindu widows'' in the film.

When contacted, Basu said: "By inviting Deepa to shoot in West Bengal the message we want to send across the country is that India is not a personal property of the Bharatiya Janata Party and its like-minded outfits. I do not know how far the shooting of Water in West Bengal will meet the film-maker's artistic needs. But, being a head of a state, I feel it's my duty to prevent fascist forces from committing barbaric acts.''

Interestingly, the BJP and its partner in the National Democratic Alliance - the Trinamul Congress - have issued conflicting statements on the possible shooting of Waterin West Bengal.

While the BJP's state unit has opposed the Left Front government's decision to allow Deepa Mehta to shoot in the state, the Trinamul Congress has welcomed the move.

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