| Fire | |
|---|---|
 Movie poster |
|
| Directed by | Deepa Mehta |
| Produced by | Bobby Bedi Deepa Mehta |
| Written by | Deepa Mehta |
| Starring | Nandita Das Shabana Azmi |
| Music by | A R Rahman |
| Cinematography | Giles Nuttgens |
| Editing by | Barry Farrell |
| Distributed by | Zeitgeist Films |
| Release date(s) | 6 September 1996 (Toronto Film Festival) |
| Running time | 108 min. UK 104 min. US |
| Country | India Canada |
| Language | Hindi English |
| Followed by | Earth (1998) Water (2005) |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Fire (Hindi: फायर) is a 1996 drama film directed by Deepa Mehta and starring Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das.
Contents |
Plot
The film takes place in contemporary Agra, India. Sita (Nandita Das), is frustrated with her marriage which was arranged by her parents. Her husband, Jatin (Javed Jaffrey) is also frustrated since he is in love with another woman who does not wish to marry him. He neglects Sita and is unfaithful to her. The story revolves around Sita's life within Jatin's extended family, and her friendship with Radha (noted actress Shabana Azmi), who is married to Jatin's brother Ashok (Kulbhushan Kharbanda). Ashok is equally unhappy with his marriage as Radha is unable to have children. Ashok then decides to embrace the life of an ascetic, so he refuses to have sexual contact with Radha. Feeling abandoned within this family structure, Sita and Radha turn to each other for love and affection, forcing them to leave the family.
Elements trilogy
Fire is the first part of a linked trilogy by Mehta; it was followed by Earth (1998) and Water (2005).
Controversies
- The film was temporarily banned in India. The protest was on the grounds that the film denigrated Indian culture.
- The review, Naive Outpourings of a Self-Hating Indian by Madhu Kiswar was highly critical of the film [1].
Cast
- Karishma Jhalani as Young Radha
- Ramanjeet Kaur as Young Radha's mother
- Dilip Mehta as Young Radha's father
- Javed Jaffrey as Jatin
- Nandita Das as Sita
- Vinay Pathak as Guide at Taj Mahal
- Kushal Rekhi as Biji
- Shabana Azmi as Radha
- Ranjit Chowdhry as Mundu
- Kulbhushan Kharbanda as Ashok
- Alice Poon as Julie
- Ram Gopal Bajaj as Swamiji
- Ravinder Happy as Oily man in video shop
- Devyani Saltzman as Girl in video shop
- Sunil Chabra as Milkman on bicycle
- Avijit Dutt as Julie's father
- Shasea Bahadur as Julie's brother
- Meher Chand as Goddess Sita
- Bahadur Chand as God Ram
- Puran as 'Ramayan' theatrical troupe member
- Sohan Lal as 'Ramayan' theatrical troupe member
- Meher as 'Ramayan' theatrical troupe member
- Amarjit Chand as 'Ramayan' theatrical troupe member
- Karam Chand as 'Ramayan' theatrical troupe member
- Kabir Chowdhury as Boy in video shop
- Laurence Côte as French tourist at the Taj Mahal
