’’I am going to shoot you, madam’’
Deepa Mehta received this and other threats after the first screening of FIRE at the International Film Festival of India in Trivandrum, There were angry males and jubilant females ready to have a fistfight, but the explosive situation was controlled by the timely appearance of the police.
FIRE is an enthralling examination of a middle class joint family in India.Radha (Shabana Azmi) is a devoted housewife to her husband Ashok (Kulbhushan Kharbanda), despite their barren & sexless arranged marriage. Ashok under the guidance of a sadhu is trying to rid himself of all forms of desires.
Ashok’s newly married younger brother Jatin (Javed Jaffery) is unwilling to give up his Chinese mistress, blaming his mother, Biji (Kushal Rekhi) and Ashok for his arranged marriage to Sita (Nandita Das). Unnerved Sita starts questioning the order in the family and soon Radha’s devotion to her husband starts wavering. Deprived of the
love of their husbands, Radha & Sita embark upon a lesbian relationship.
I remember reading the media reports from India about Fire.This(the male protesters could not even utter the word lesbian) is not in our culture’’ But look at the Indian literature, paintings and sculptures they all are depicting the erotic experience in one form or the other.
’’FIRE’’ came because I wanted to de-mystify India and Deepa Mehta says and believe me she has succeeded. She has managed to shatter the myth of the Indian woman, as portrayed by Hollywood and Indian men at large that woman is mere sex object. The ancient scriptures project Indian women as pious, dutiful and self-sacrificing, but ignore that they too have feelings and desires.
’’My mother’s arranged marriage and her feelings of isolation moved me deeply. We women especially Indian women constantly have to go through a metaphorical test of purity in order to be validated as human beings. I have seen most of the women in my family go through this in one form or the other’’ says Deepa Mehta.
But do women have choices? If they make choices, what price they have to pay? FIRE explores this question in detail.
I wonder if FIRE is available in India (VIDEO or DVD) if it is, I recommend you to watch it and decide for yourselves