Fire (1996)

Ashok runs a family business that sells takeout food that also has a video rental store at the side. Ashok's extended family includes his wife Radha, his brother Jatin, their ailing mother ... See full summary »

Director:

Deepa Mehta

Writer:

Deepa Mehta

Stars:

Karishma Jhalani, Ramanjeet Kaur, Nandita Das

7 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Karishma Jhalani	...	Young Radha
Ramanjeet Kaur	...	Young Radha's mother
Dilip Mehta	...	Young Radha's father
Javed Jaffrey	...	Jatin (as Jaaved Jaaferi)
Nandita Das	...	Sita
Vinay Pathak	...	Guide at Taj Mahal
Kushal Rekhi	...	Biji
Shabana Azmi	...	Radha
Ranjit Chowdhry	...	Mundu
Kulbhushan Kharbanda	...	Ashok
Alice Poon	...	Julie
Ram Gopal Bajaj	...	Swamiji
Ravinder Happy	...	Oily man in video shop
Devyani Saltzman	...	Girl in video shop (as Devyani Mehta Saltzman)
Sunil Chhabra	...	Milkman on bicycle

Storyline

Ashok runs a family business that sells takeout food that also has a video rental store at the side. Ashok's extended family includes his wife Radha, his brother Jatin, their ailing mother Biji and their manservant Mundu, all living under the same roof. Jatin, at the insistence of Ashok and their mother, Biji, agrees to marry the beautiful Sita in an arranged marriage, although he is actually in love with Julie, a Chinese-Indian. At first glance, you see a happy middle-class family going through the normal paces of everyday life. However, as the layers are slowly peeled back, we find a simmering cauldron of discontent within the family, with almost every family member living a lie. Both marriages in the family turn out to be emotionally empty, without love or passion. While Ashok is an ascetic who has taken a vow of celibacy, Jatin is a handsome ladies' man who is still openly seeing Julie even after his marriage to Sita. Ashok has pledged his total devotion to a religious holy man, a...

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Plot Keywords:

marriage | desire | bell | friend | arranged marriage | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Canada India

Language:

Hindi English

Release Date:

22 August 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fire - Wenn die Liebe Feuer fängt

Filming Locations:

New Delhi, Delhi, India

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$14,384 (USA) (22 August 1997)

Gross:

$402,749 (USA) (10 October 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Trial by Fire Films Inc., Kaleidoscope Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

On its opening day in India, some movie theaters were attacked by Hindu fundamentalists, and the movie was eventually banned for religious insensitivity. The film was banned in Pakistan for the lesbian relationship that the movie plays around.

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Quotes

Young Radha's mother: [in the very beginning of the movie] What you can't see you can see. You just have to see without looking.

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Connections

References Basic Instinct (1992)

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Soundtracks

"Bombay Theme"
(1995)
Composed by A.R. Rahman
From the Bumbai soundtrack
Available on CD & cassette from PolyGram India Ltd.
Courtesy of Mani Ratnam

User Reviews

Wonderfully tender treatment of sensitive subject matter

This film powerfully demonstrates the struggle of two women in love in a culture so deeply entrenched in ritual and tradition. All this against a backdrop of an India which itself is struggling for freedom from these same values. This film is both political and personal and never too preachy or idealistic on either front. It is easy to see why "Fire" has caused riots in India, but tragic nonetheless. A true film such as this one deserves to be seen by all people of the world, not just privileged westerners.