Deepa Mehta’s Fire, starring Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das, was among the first films in mainstream Indian cinema to explore the topic of same-sex relationships. At the recent Kashish Pride Film Festival at Liberty Cinema, Deepa Mehta and Nandita Das came together for a ‘Fire’side Chat to talk about the impact the film had on the audience and the LGBTQIA+ community 28 years ago.

Nandita, who made her acting debut with Fire and has directed films over the years, said, “Fire sparked a crucial conversation about LGBTQ+ issues at a time when such a dialogue was virtually non-existent. Revisiting this journey at this film festival with Deepa was profoundly moving. It reminded me of the power of cinema in driving social change and the importance of continuing this advocacy.”

Deepa said that when she made Fire, she didn’t think about conveying a message through the film. “For me, it was an exploration, and I didn’t think of it as a queer film then. It was a natural progression in the relationship, where they were emotionally available and sustainable for each other,” she revealed.

Nandita added, “For me, Fire was my first film. Many people said it was such a bold decision to work in a film like this as your first. But at that time, I didn’t see it as an act of courage because I didn’t know there was going to be a second film. I didn’t want to be an actor; I was quite happy working at the NGO after my Masters of Social Work. To me, Fire was a story of love, about something that we weren’t talking enough about. My understanding of queer issues came after the film when I started realising what kind of an insensitive world we were living in, with so many double standards. I became a natural ally without having the vocabulary and the ‘isms’.”

The protests, attacks and vandalism did not begin immediately after the release, but after almost two weeks. Deepa recalled, “Fire actually went through the censor board twice, without a single cut and that we felt was amazing. After the release, I was in Dubai, but was called back to Delhi because the attacks began. There were protestors at the Regal Theatre and Connaught Place. I reached there and was astounded. I wept at what I saw. I saw women with placards that said, ‘We are lesbians and we are Indians’.”

Nandita chipped in, “We knew there would be problems when we made the film. We were prepared for some cuts, but when the Censor Board passed it without a single cut, we were overjoyed. It was released, and there were mixed reactions. On the 13th day, the attacks started with, ‘Yeh hamare culture ke khilaf hai’. What gave us courage was that people took to the streets spontaneously saying that it was their right to be able to watch the film.”