Mother India and Fire

Mother India struck me as a non-intended comedy; I'm not quite sure if it was meant to be funny but I am going to presume that its over-dramatization is what made it so. This film, I think, focuses on the honor of womanhood and how capable they are in society. The main character is portrayed working in the fields, raising her children on her own with what little she has, and protecting herself against the landowner. And in the end she shows that she is "first a woman, then a mother" by killing her son to protect the landowner's daughter in order to preserve the town's value. This was very surprising because in most films, especially those based in cultures such as that of India, the women's main duties are to be mothers. Rarely do we see a film based on woman power and their ability to have a voice and control. Fire on the other hand portrays  two very different stories; instead we meet two women who do not seem to be allowed to have a voice, who will not have a kind life without their husbands. It is easy to see why this film caused so much controversy, not only do we have two women who decide to take control of their lives and go against what their husbands want, but two women who also go against society by finding love and desire in each other's arms. Fire challenges every belief that most Indian's hold true: homosexuality is a sin and women are meant to please their husbands. The fact that the film ends with Rhada being set on fire by her husband and yet not burning to ash, signifying that what she has done is not a sin, is a blatant showing that homosexuality is actually not a sin. It shows that it is okay to do what makes you happy, be with who makes you happy, even if others do not agree with it.