Shabana Azmi says climax of Fire was changed on Farhan Akhtar’s suggestion: ‘It will ruin the purpose of the film’

Veteran actor Shabana Azmi on Saturday said the climax of her 1996 critically-acclaimed movie Fire was changed following a suggestion by her stepson, actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar.

The Indo-Canadian film, written and directed by Deepa Mehta, explored themes of love, identity, and societal norms through the story of two women, Radha (Azmi) and Sita (Nandita Das), who develop an emotional and romantic relationship. Speaking at a masterclass session during the Mumbai Film Festival, where she was in conversation with actor Vidya Balan, Azmi said she had discussed the film with her family before agreeing to the role.

Farhan Akhtar’s suggestion for Fire
“What’s interesting is that Farhan is younger than Zoya and I had discussed this film with him back then. He was very young, and I told him to read the script. And he loved it. He said, ‘I don’t like the end because this woman (Radha) dies. It will ruin the whole purpose of the film, and people might think, you did something wrong’. He said, ‘She must survive’,” Azmi said, adding that she shared the feedback with Mehta.

“She said, ‘Let me think about it.’ That’s what set the film, so it was my entire family that came and supported me for the film,” she added.

Why Shabana was hesitant for Fire
Fire was one of the first mainstream Bollywood films to depict homosexual relationships and one of the earliest to portray a lesbian relationship on screen. Azmi said she gave careful thought before accepting the role, fearing the impact it might have on her social work, particularly with women in the slums. “I was working with women in slums. I felt if I do this then that work will be used against me in the work that I did with slums. And that those women would find it difficult to work with me,” she said.

At that time, she found support from her husband Javed Akhtar and stepdaughter Zoya Akhtar.

“Zoya was young, she was 18 years old or something. She said, ‘What are you doing now?’, I said, ‘I’m offered this film and I like this film but I’ve this problem.’ She asked, ‘Why?’ and I told her, ‘I’m playing this character.’ She said, ‘If you like the script then what’s the big deal?’ I thought there’s a generation of people who think differently,” Azmi said.

She recalled the advice her husband gave her. “Javed said something beautiful to me. He said, ‘See, Shabana, if you are willing to take flak, feel you can treat the subject sensitively and relate to this woman, then go ahead and do it, knowing that you’ll get flak but also knowing that you will do something that you believe in. So don’t worry about it’,” she recounted.

Azmi said it was remarkable that Fire sparked conversations about same-sex relationships in society. “It made people question, some people got angry, some empathised with it, some were puzzled but what it did was it started a conversation about the subject that was brushed under the carpet. That’s what a film can do. But a political party seized it as an opportunity to make it into a big issue,” she said.

The National-award-winning actor praised the Censor Board for clearing the film. “At that time, the censor board was amazing because the film was re-referred to them, and they passed it again. That was amazing and stunning because it’s a sensitive film.