The film reveals how widows are condemned by religious law to live as outcasts. "There were all sorts of mumblings that the script was anti-Hindu," recalls Mehta. "Before we knew it, mobs materialised and threw our sets into the river and started burning my effigy." Protestors managed to stop filming in India and the production was moved to Sri Lanka. But many of the protestors were simply targeting Mehta because of her earlier film, 'Fire'. It depicted lesbians in India and was accused of encouraging homosexuality.