Fire (1996 film)
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Film poster
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| Directed by | Deepa Mehta |
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| Written by | Deepa Mehta |
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| Music by | A. R. Rahman |
| Cinematography | Giles Nuttgens |
| Edited by | Barry Farrell |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Zeitgeist Films |
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Release date
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Running time
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108 minutes |
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| Box office | $501,533 |
| Fire: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | ||||
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| Film score by A. R. Rahman | ||||
| Released | 1996 | |||
| Recorded | Panchathan Record Inn | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Label | Colosseum Records | |||
| Producer | Bobby Bedi | |||
| A. R. Rahman chronology | ||||
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Fire (Hindi: Phāyar फायर) is a 1996 Indian-Canadian romantic drama film written and directed by Deepa Mehta, and starring Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das. It is the first installment of Mehta's Elements trilogy; it is succeeded by Earth (1998) and Water (2005).
The film is loosely based on Ismat Chughtai's 1942 story, Lihaaf (The Quilt). It was one of the first mainstream Bollywood films to explicitly show homosexual relations. After its 1998 release in India, certain groups staged several protests, setting off a flurry of public dialogue around issues such as homosexuality and freedom of speech.
The film opens with young Radha sitting in a mustard field with her parents. Her mother tells her a story of a person who wanted to see the ocean.
The film flashes forward to Sita, a newly married woman. Her husband Jatin is distant and shows little interest in Sita. Jatin is in a typical joint-family arrangement. He lives with his older brother Ashok, his sister-in-law Radha, his invalid mother (Biji) and the family servant Mundu. Ashok and Jatin run a small store that sells food and rents videotapes.
Sita is in a typical arranged marriage, but learns that Jatin married her only to put an end to Ashok's nagging. Jatin continues to date his Chinese girlfriend. Sita does not rebuke him for fear that it may bring dishonour to her parents. The rest of Jatin's home is not rosy either. Biji is paralysed and speechless after a stroke, and Sita and Radha must constantly attend to her. Sita spends her days slaving in the hot kitchen, and finds herself lonely and frustrated at night because Jatin is out with his girlfriend. She yearns to break out of this stifling situation.
It is revealed that Radha faces a similar problem. Many years ago, Ashok had come under the influence of Swamiji, a local preacher, who teaches that desires are the cause of suffering and must be suppressed. Ashok is completely taken by these monastic teachings and suppresses all his desires. He also donates large sums from the meager store income to treat the Swamiji's hydrocele condition. It is also revealed that Radha cannot bear children. The Swamiji teaches that sexual contact is permitted only as a means for procreation. Accordingly, Ashok aims to stamp out all his desires and has not slept with Radha for the past thirteen years. He puts Radha through an excruciating ritual in which they lie motionless next to each other whenever he wants to test his resolve. Radha is racked with guilt over her ailment and driven to frustration by the ritual. While the older Radha remains bound by tradition and subdued into silence, the younger Sita refuses to accept her fate.
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