A daring flame in india

Many have heard of the recent pathbreaking entrance of LGBTQ+ rights into the Indian mainstream media, yet few know of the first torch lit in this direction. This is a story about 'Fire', a movie which received equal amounts of adoration and criticism from the public.

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Considered a watershed moment in the feminist and queer history of India, the movie ‘Fire’ by Deepa Mehta takes an admirable step toward the normalization and acceptance of homosexuality in the Indian public. Though the movie was released nearly 25 years ago, the trembles of its impact are still revered by many. Fire is a love story about two women, Radha and Sita, played by Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das, respectively.

The film portrays the two women as ‘barren’ and abandoned by their husbands, both living a life coated in misery and hatred. It is only when they begin exploring their feelings for each other that they realize the sheer magnitude of their love for each other. Their love is pure, yet it burns with raging passion, so much so that it leaves them in awe at its intensity. The film also does a glorifying job of illustrating the shame and the guilt that is accompanied by a woman traversing her sexuality. The patriarchal institutions are constituted to bound women from attaining any pleasure and subsequently, promote looking upon them as mere objects present for subjugation by men. Deepa Mehta incorporates this aspect into the film, with characters like Sita’s mother preaching that ‘a woman without a husband is like plain rice: bland and unappetizing’. These women are shackled by customs and traditions molded to make them respond like a ‘trained monkey’.

The symbolism of Radha and Sita as goddesses is also evident throughout the movie. The women are seen to defy the traditional myths surrounding these two symbols and instead, fire, symbolic of 'purity', is seen as a symbol of union between them, which indicated the virtuous and natural nature of their love. Furthermore, Mehta utilizes the element of space in Fire. Radha and Sita's true freedom is only portrayed in places like the terrace, or the market, which are essentially open spaces, symbolizing newfound freedom. The terrace, specifically, is a manifestation of comfort and liberation between the two women. It is space for them to rest away from their oppressive household and seek intimacy. As time goes on, Radha and Sita themselves become symbolic of the terrace, both providing solace for each other in the most delicate way.

The overt display of lesbian love was unknown during this time, and consequently, the movie was torn to shreds over claims of ‘vulgarity’ and ‘absurdity’. The movie was also heavily sexualized by men who failed to grasp the underlying jabs at the patriarchal institutions and the stringent suppression of female sexuality. Instead, it was counterproductively seen by them as a means of attaining their perverse pleasures and further objectifying the two women.

Deepa Mehta has previously stated the cultural and historical significance of introducing the concept of queerness into the Indian cinema and hoping for a more inclusive society. Her dream might have been actualized to some extent, as is evident by the warm opening received by the movie at the International Film Festival of Kerela, 1997, with people appreciating the rich art, traditions, folklore, and history imbued into Fire. Several attempts made to ban the film occurred, people protested against its screening as they thought it ‘promoted defilement of the Indian culture’, and movie theatres were vandalized, all in the name of protecting the so-called culture. However, on the other hand, after being brutally lambasted by the public, there were vigils organized at Regal, with women and men advocating for freedom of the press and the liberation of the queer community.

Despite all, Fire has proved itself to be a pivotal moment in the history of India. It changed the feminist and the queer movement, dictated their directions, and portrayed a realistic picture of domestic love between two women that defied all cultural norms that are enforced upon the said gender to make them succumb to the ‘ultimate power of men’. Fire, in its true sense, is an act of burning liberation from the shackles of heteronormativity and patriarchy, bringing a pearl of deep wisdom and empathy into Indian society.