The first in a great trilogy of films about Indian society by the Canada-based director Deepa Mehta, Fire is a powerful drama about two sisters-in-law who feel trapped by tradition in unhappy marriages. Radha (Shabana Azmi) has allowed herself to be ignored and exploited for years by a man who’s obsessed with celibacy. Sita (Nandita Das), who has been married only a few days, struggles to resign herself to misery until she finds the inspiration to question the social values requiring her to be a dutiful and self-effacing wife.