(Deepa Mehta, 1996, India/Canada, 108 minutes)
An arthouse hit when first released in America in the summer of 1997, Deepa Mehta’s Fire was groundbreaking amongst Bollywood films for its depiction of a lesbian relationship. Radha (Shabana Azmi, a major player in the Hindi film industry and part of the Azmi film dynasty) is suffering in her arranged marriage of 15 years to Ashok (Mehta regular Kulbushan Kharbanda), who has been working with a spiritual leader to eliminate any form of desire. Enter Sita (future director Nandita Das), Radha’s new sister-in-law, also by arranged marriage. Sita’s husband is Ashok’s caddish brother Jatin, who is actually in love with his Chinese-Indian girlfriend Julie. Radha is quick to learn from Sita how better to show agency over her situation, and the two of them find an escape route from their married lives in one another.
Sponsored by the Gateway Korea Foundation, Betty’s Books, Metro Trans Umbrella Group, and Left Bank Books.
Tuesday, June 13 at 7:30pm
Winifred Moore Auditorium
470 E. Lockwood Ave., St. Louis, MO 63119
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