Fire (1996) Movie Review

『Forbidden Warmth Blooming Within the Shell of Tradition』

🎥 Movie Overview

🎬 Title: Fire (1996)
🌍 Country: 🇮🇳 India / 🇨🇦 Canada
🎞️ Genre: Romance / Drama / Social Critique
🗓️ Production & Release: Trial by Fire Films
⏳ Runtime: 104 minutes
📢 Director: Deepa Mehta
🖋️ Screenplay: Deepa Mehta
📖 Source Material: Lihaaf by Ismat Chughtai
📺 Platforms: Netflix (selected countries), YouTube (paid), DVD, etc.

👩‍💼 Cast: Shabana Azmi – Radha
Nandita Das – Sita

🧩 Story Deep Dive (Spoilers)

💔 Oppressed Marriages, Shattered Beliefs

Radha is a housewife of thirteen years, but her husband Ashok is deeply immersed in religious practices and completely neglects her. Sita is newly married, but her husband Jatin continues an affair with a Chinese girlfriend, showing indifference to her. Both women live within the institution of marriage without love or connection, experiencing extreme isolation and loneliness.

🌿 Encounter in Alienation, the Budding of Emotions

As they share daily routines like managing the kitchen and tending to chores, Radha and Sita gradually lean on each other. Initially silent comforts, their emotions quietly bloom into affection for one another. This process emerges naturally from real-life loneliness and frustration rather than impulsiveness or fantasy.

🔥 Realizing Love, at a Crossroad of Choice

Opening their hearts, Radha and Sita eventually engage in a physical relationship. However, their bond cannot remain hidden within the household. The husbands’ reactions range from indifference to anger, ultimately attempting to deny their very existence. 💬 "All I want is one thing: to feel me. To exist."

🚪 From Taboo to Liberation, Steps Through Fire

Radha acknowledges her feelings and decides to leave home. Sita does not wait and follows the same path. Their final scene is not a simple happy ending but a declaration of choosing to live as oneself, breaking free from an oppressive life.

🦋 Emotional Resonance and Significance

🎬 Director's Courage and Aesthetics

Deepa Mehta is one of the first directors to openly screen a film focusing on love between women in conservative Indian society. Through this work, she demonstrates that love can exist beyond heterosexual norms while sharply exposing societal hypocrisy, religious duality, and the oppressed position of women.

🎥 Cinematic Touch and Symbolism

The film uses static framing, muted costumes, and soundscapes rich in silence to maximize the protagonists’ internal states. Fire serves as a symbol of oppression and liberation, and Radha walking into the flames in the final scene signifies rebirth rather than death.

🌏 A Work Clashing With Its Era

At the time of its 1996 release, the film sparked riots and bans across India. Paradoxically, this also confirmed the impact and influence of a film challenging social taboos.

🎯 Personal Rating

💕 Love Scene Intensity: ♥♥
⭐ Rating: ★★★☆