Love and Lust

Both “Mother India” and “Fire” were aptly named.  Though both of these pieces were about controversial subjects dealing with female characters, their respective titles reflect the different types of stories being explored by the film makers and the audience as well.  Motherhood and the duties that come with that title are examined in “Mother India” while lust, love and tradition are evaluated in “Fire.”   

            What was interesting in “Mother India” was the modern take on a marriage built on love that was followed by the devastating act of having to kill one’s own child.  Many parents would rather die themselves than see their child die before them so to say that the protagonist of “Mother India” ends as a heroine is debatable.  Even if done for a greater good who can say what inner effects such an act could have on a parent? And not only is the mother killing an image of herself but also an image of the man she loved. 

            The heroines of “Fire” have a more defined type of victory.  They defy their over bearing husbands and the hardnosed tradition that only a man and woman should be physically united and run away to create a new life.  Theirs is the story of people who leave their old families behind to create a new one.  But it must be noted that while they manage to shed the chains of such old traditions they do not have to worry about the future of any children.  They only need to look after each other.

            These female characters were similar in the fact that they were strong willed, forward thinking and fed up with old customs.  But it is the differences that are more interesting.  Rahda enters in the contract of marriage with a man she loves and they have children.  With modern mature relationships like this the passion and physical desire does not completely abate but it does lower its burn because practical things need to occur, like working the fields to feed the children.  For Sita and her lover though they never reach that point in the film.  Their relationship is built out of frustration and unmet physical desires.  It is sharp and warm like a fire but it has a very Romeo and Juliet feel about it.  At the end of the film these woman are being showered with rain; this choice should not be ignored as it signals the different conclusions this love story could have.  The rain could be Sita’s affection as she tends to her lover’s burn wounds or perhaps it is a signal that while they have gained their freedom the sparks of their romance are cooling.