Shekhar Kapur opines issue on water to be put on social network

Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, who is making Paani based on water scarcity with Hrithik Roshan in the lead, feels one’s awareness about the issue could be spread through social networking websites. The 66-year-old was speaking at The Water Landscape, a panel discussion with reference to water scarcity, at the ongoing 12th Osian's Cinefan Film Festival yesterday. “We all have Twitter and Facebook accounts, so why not use it to spread awareness about common issue like water conservation? It is a very powerful medium. If Mahatma Gandhi would have had a Facebook account, then we would have got independence very early,” observed Kapur. The internationally acclaimed filmmaker, known in India for his films like Masoom, Mr India and Bandit Queen, said that the water-related discussion could be taken to another level with the help of social media. He was of the feeling that the right kind of passion could help in brining change in the society. Water conservation is on Kapur's priority list, and his new film Paani has its roots in the water crisis, which has escalated in the last 15 years due to over-consumption and misuse. "When I told people that I am making a film on water, they told me, 'Who is going to watch a film like that?' But then I went ahead with it. The problem of water is always seen as a rural problem, but actually it is an urban issue," Kapur remarked. "One can live without electricity and food, but not without water," he observed.