BURN SITA, BURN: DEEPA MEHTA'S "FIRE" |
| GUILD FILM DISTRIBUTORS "Fire": Director: Deepa Mehta. Cast: Shabana Azmi,
Kulbushan Kharbanda, Jaaved Jaaferi, Nandita Das, Ranjit Chowdhry, Ram Gopal Bajaj, Alice
Poom & Kushal Rekhi. Canada 1996. INTRODUCTION: Filmed in New Delhi but with dialogue in English, the language of choice for India's middle class, by a Canadian resident director, "Fire" is a unique blend of cultures. SYNOPSIS: Radha (Azmi) leads a life of monotonous middle-class conformity, tending store at her husband Ashok's (Kharbanda) New Delhi video and take-out store and caring for his invalid mother Biji (Rekhi). Their peace is shattered by the arrival of Ashok's younger brother Jatin (Jaaferi) and his new bride Sita (Das). Jatin and Sita's marriage is a loveless one, despite Sita's romantic overtures, with Jatin spending most nights with his foreign mistress Julie (Poom). While Ashok is vowed to celibacy at the behest of his Swamiji (Bajaj), at whose temple he spends all his free time. This turn of circumstance drives Radha and Sita together with a common bond that develops into a nameless, in Hindi at least, love. Only the servant Mundu (Chowdhry) realises the extent of Radha and Sita's relationship, and when Radha insists that he is dismissed, upon discovering him watching pornographic videos in front of the traumatised Biji, he reveals the truth to Ashok. REVIEW: Mehta delves deep into the Indian middle-class conscience exploring it's highs and lows, giving us a good feel for the stories cultural roots. Augmented by a New Deli sumptuously realised by Giles Nuttgens' beautiful cinematography, no less poetical than in the framing scenes which tell of a young girl's desire to see the sea. Das brings a na‹ve innocence to her role as the beautiful Sita, extraordinarily complimented but the world weary quality which Azmi brings to her role as Radha. Kharbanda, Jaaferi and Chowdhry are all suitably repellent, while Rekhi is stunningly understated in her role as the shrewd but immobile Biji Exploring the twin themes of redemption and duty, the conclusion is prefigured in a wonderful scene in which Ashok watches a staging of the story of the goddess Sita (Meher Chand) and her husband the god Ram (Bahadur Chand). Ram suspecting Sita of infidelity forces her to undergo trial by fire, surviving the flames and proving her purity she is banished anyway. Barry Farrell's editing brings a good pace to what could have been a slow story, centring on the love between two women in a culture that is so male dominated that there isn't even a word for it in their language. The action or rather interaction moves a pace culminating in a conclusion of truly miraculous proportions. MUTT'S RATING: Fire: *** |