| |
FIRE
by Deepa Mehta, Fiction, 108', 1996, 35mm, INDIA / CANADA
With Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das, Jaaved Jaaferi, Kushal Rekhi, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Ranjit Chowdhry
In New Delhi, Sita, modern young girl has married Jatin in
an arranged marriage. Nevertheles, she believes in true love.
But her husband is already in love with another woman.
Radha has been married to Ashok, Jatin’s brother, for fifteen
years. Ashok shuns earthly pleasures and desires, pledging
devotion to a guru. They all live in their family house, severely
watched by Ashok and Jatin’s mother, keeper of the
ancestral traditions. Betrayed and humiliated, Sita refuses to
be silent, and upsets the fragile family balance. Sita’s rebellion
involves Radha, and they progressively approximate
to each other.
DEEPA MEHTA
Deepa Mehta was born in
1950 in Amritsar (India).
Graduate in philosophy at the
University of New Delhi, she
moves to Toronto in 1973,
where she works as a producer,
script-writer, editor and
finally director. In 1995, after
Sam & Moi (1991) and Camilla (1993), she directs Fire. ". Since
its first projection Fire rises violent
reactions. The following
episodes, Earth (1998) and
Water (2000), provoke furore.
With three others features,
Deepa Mehta is reasonably
considered as a courageous
director, whose films often
focus on the universal issues of
identity and tradition. |
|
