Fire

"Beneath the surface lies a burning secret."

1997 1h 48m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

🍅

89%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.1

IMDB

★6.8TMDB · 72🍅89%Rotten Tomatoes●64Metacritic★7.1IMDB · 6,596

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In a barren, arranged marriage to an amateur swami who seeks enlightenment through celibacy, Radha's life takes an irresistible turn when her beautiful young sister-in-law seeks to free herself from the confines of her own loveless marriage.

“Beneath the surface lies a burning secret.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Cast

Nandita Das
Sita
Shabana Azmi
Radha
Javed Jaffrey
Jatin
Kulbhushan Kharbanda
Ashok
Kushal Rekhi
Biji
Ranjit Chowdhry
Mundu
Karishma Jhalani
Young Radha
Alice Poon
Julie

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Deepa Mehta
Writers: Deepa Mehta, Deepa Mehta
Languages: English, Hindi
Countries: Canada, India

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

29 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Hindi.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Canada, India.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Part of the "Elements Trilogy" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Deepa Mehta, shot by Giles Nuttgens. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by A.R. Rahman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Barry Farrell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Nandita Das and Shabana Azmi and Javed Jaffrey carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Deepa Mehta directs. Giles Nuttgens behind the camera. A.R. Rahman scores. Barry Farrell cuts. Produced in Canada, India. Dialogue in English, Hindi.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

129 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Hindi.
3International production across 2 countries: Canada, India.
4Part of the "Elements Trilogy" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Deepa Mehta, shot by Giles Nuttgens. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by A.R. Rahman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Barry Farrell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Nandita Das and Shabana Azmi and Javed Jaffrey carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Beneath the surface lies a burning secret.".
10IMDB entry: tt0116308 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Only 72 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
12Classified under 10 themes, including "coming out", "infidelity", "husband wife relationship", "arranged marriage".

The technical file

Cinematography: Giles Nuttgens
Original score: A.R. Rahman
Editing: Barry Farrell
Production design: Aradhana Seth
Costume design: Neelam Mansingh Chowdhury
Runtime: 108 min · 1h 48m
Status: Released
Box office: $501,533
Original language: EN
IMDB: Fire (1997)
Rotten Tomatoes: 89% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 64/100
IMDB rating: 7.1/10 · 6,596 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

7 wins & 1 nomination total

Part of

Elements Trilogy

The Elements Trilogy is a series of three films by Indo-Canadian director Deepa Mehta: Fire (1996), Earth (1998), and Water (2005), which explore controversial social issues in India, focusing on the experiences of women. The films tackle themes like arranged marriage and homosexuality (Fire), the trauma of the Partition (Earth), and the plight of widows (Water). They are known for their powerful storytelling and for addressing taboo subjects within a patriarchal society.