Fire (1996)

Director:

Deepa Mehta

Writer:

Deepa Mehta (written by)

Release Date:

22 August 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Ashok runs a family business that sells takeout food that also has a video rental store at the side...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Video Store | Arranged Marriage | Desire | Marital Abuse

Awards:

6 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 Chabra	...	Milkman on bicycle (as Sunil Chhabra)

Runtime:

UK:108 min | USA:104 min

Country:

India | Canada

Language:

Hindi | English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Manitoba) (re-rating) (2005) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) (original rating) | Malaysia:(Banned) | Iceland:L | USA:PG-13 | India:A | France:U | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:Unrated | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:Unrated | India:(Banned) | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

New Delhi, Delhi, India

Company:

Kaleidoscope Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

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.

Quotes:

Sita: Isn't it amazing? We're so bound by customs and rituals. Somebody just has to press my button, this button marked Tradition, and I start responding like a trained monkey. Do I shock you?
Radha: Yes.
Sita: You're lovely.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Water (2005/I)

Soundtrack:

Allah Hukh

Exquisite use of mythology

It's worth boning up on the Hindu pantheon before watching this film. Three main female deities -- wise Sita, nurturing Lakshmi and Kali the Transformer -- as well as three main male deities -- grave Rama, playful Krishna and Shiva the Ender -- are all alluded to. Knowing the folklore as surely every Indian member of an audience does lends a richness to the telling of the present-day story. In fact, one folktale is enacted first on stage, as part of a lesson in spirituality, and then in the movie's "real life." "Fire" speaks out against the misogyny and homophobia in the society to which its producers are native, and it does so with a beauty that weaves the message into multiple levels of the viewer's awareness, making it a deeply satisfying presentation. This is the finest film i've seen in the past ten years; very highly recommended!