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 is a 1996 drama film directed by Deepa Mehta and starring Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das. Image File history File links Deepa_Mehta_-_Fire_poster. ... Deepa Mehta (born 1950 in Amritsar, India) is an Indian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter who is based in Toronto. ... Deepa Mehta (born 1950 in Amritsar, India) is an Indian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter who is based in Toronto. ... Deepa Mehta (born 1950 in Amritsar, India) is an Indian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter who is based in Toronto. ... Nandita Das (born November 7, 1969 in Delhi, India) is an Indian actress. ... Shabana Azmi (Hindi: शबाना आज़मी, born 18 September 1950 at New Delhi, India) is one of the leading actresses of parallel cinema. ... A.R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (born Thursday January 6, 1966 as A.S. Dileep Kumar in Chennai, India) is a popular Indian film music composer. ... Giles Nuttgens is a British cinematographer and member of the British Society of Cinematographers (BSC). ... Zeitgeist Films is an American independent film distributor based in New York City. ... September 6 is the 249th day of the year (250th in leap years). ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is generally considered to be one of the five top film festivals in the world. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_India. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Canada. ... Hindi (Devanagari: हिन्दी or हिंदी; IPA: ), an Indo-European language spoken mainly in northern and central India, is the official language of the Union government of India [1][2]. It is part of a dialect continuum of the Indic family, bounded on the northwest and west by Punjabi, Sindhi, Urdu, and Gujarati... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Bapsi Sidhwas novel, Cracking India, (1991, U.S.; 1992, India; originally published as Ice Candy Man, 1988, England), was released as the 1998 film Earth (1947 in India), directed by Deepa Mehta. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Water is a Canadian 2005 film directed and written by Deepa Mehta. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... A drama film is a film that depends mostly on in-depth character development, interaction, and highly emotional themes. ... Deepa Mehta (born 1950 in Amritsar, India) is an Indian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter who is based in Toronto. ... Shabana Azmi (Hindi: शबाना आज़मी, born 18 September 1950 at New Delhi, India) is one of the leading actresses of parallel cinema. ... Nandita Das (born November 7, 1969 in Delhi, India) is an Indian actress. ...

Plot

The film takes place in contemporary Delhi, 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. For other uses, see Delhi (disambiguation). ... Nandita Das (born November 7, 1969 in Delhi, India) is an Indian actress. ...

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. Shabana Azmi (Hindi: शबाना आज़मी, born 18 September 1950 at New Delhi, India) is one of the leading actresses of parallel cinema. ... This biographical article needs more biographical information on the subject. ... The word ascetic derives from the ancient Greek term askesis (practice, training or exercise). ...

Elements trilogy

Fire is the first part of a linked trilogy by Mehta; it was followed by Earth (1998) and Water (2005). A trilogy is a set of three works of art, usually literature or film, that are connected and can generally be seen as a single work as well as three individual ones. ... Bapsi Sidhwas novel, Cracking India, (1991, U.S.; 1992, India; originally published as Ice Candy Man, 1988, England), was released as the 1998 film Earth (1947 in India), directed by Deepa Mehta. ... This is a list of film-related events in 1998. ... Water is a Canadian 2005 film directed and written by Deepa Mehta. ... This is a list of film-related events in 2005. ...

Controversies

• The film was temporarily banned in India after Hindu fundamentalists attacked cinemas where it was being screened. The protest was on the grounds that the film denigrated Hinduism and Hindu deities
• Indian feminist Madhu Kiswar rejected the film as the "Naive Outpourings of a Self-Hating Indian", being deliberately demeaning to Indians and Hindu culture [1].
• The movie was one of the highest grossing Indian films that year overseas.

Hindutva (Hinduness, a word coined by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in his 1923 pamphlet entitled Hindutva: Who is a Hindu? ) is used to describe movements advocating Hindu nationalism. ...

Cast

• Shabana Azmi ... Radha
• Nandita Das ... Sita
• Javed Jaffery ... Jatin
• Kushal Rekhi ... Biji
• Kulbhushan Kharbanda ... Ashok
• Ranjit Chowdhry ... Mundu

Shabana Azmi (Hindi: शबाना आज़मी, born 18 September 1950 at New Delhi, India) is one of the leading actresses of parallel cinema. ... Nandita Das (born November 7, 1969 in Delhi, India) is an Indian actress. ... This biographical article needs more biographical information on the subject. ... Chowdhry (right) as Dr. Gudat in Prison Break Ranjit Chowdhry is an actor of Indian origin. ...

External links

• Fire at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with Deepa Mehta

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