Heaven on Earth is perhaps Indo-Canadian director Deepa Mehta’s most authentic film to date. It’s a look into the household of a new immigrant family from Punjab, India. Arriving into their family fold, through an arranged marriage, is new bride Chand. In India, Canada is called a heaven on Earth, and marriage is also seen with that same kind of reverence. In reality, the notion of marital bliss proves false, at least in this story and many other immigrant stories just like it.
Set in Brampton, Ontario in the dead of winter, the scenery is stark and cold, much like Chand’s emotional welcome into Canada. Her new husband Rocky is the breadwinner in a multigenerational household, and what he says, goes. He also has a temper and lashes out at Chand, leaving her beaten and bruised. He then puts her to work, keeping her wages and ignoring her phone calls. When she finally does get through, Chand is told to stay, as her brother needs a visa to Canada, and Rocky has offered to help with the dowry money. Chand is stuck in hell, but she finds escape in an old folk tale about a snake that blurs the lines of reality.
Mehta landed a casting coup with Preity Zinta as the glowing young bride, who marries a man she’s never met. Zinta is a big star in India — consider her the Julia Roberts of Bollywood (she even starred in a Bollywood remake of Pretty Woman, playing the prostitute with a heart of gold and smile to match). Zinta has always taken on challenging roles in India while maintaining her mainstream success, but her performance in Heaven on Earth is one of her best. She took a risk in portraying Chand, as domestic abuse is often a guarded secret in the South Asian community.
The one element of the film that may not resonate with the audience is the folk tale, which takes the film into magical realism. The shape-shifting cobra is a common theme in Indian stories and is used to show the depths of love. Assuming audiences can bridge this small cultural gap, it should be easy for anyone to enter Chand’s world, as Mehta has constructed a perfect film.
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