The movie "FIRE" has turned up the heat in India. Protesters have started riots, vandalized property and been arrested during demonstrations against the English-language film. The movie is about two middle-class Indian sisters-in-law who free themselves from the constraints of their marriage and begin a lesbian relationship. \n "FIRE" is hot. Never before has India's Central Board of Film Certification allowed a movie with such explicit sexual scenes to be shown in the conservative country. \n But this is no ordinary film, either. Directed by Deepa Mehta, an award-winning Indian filmmaker, it has won 14 international prizes and did will in U.S. art houses in 1997. Still, it took until last fall for the Central Board to agree to allow the showing of this film, the first ever allowed on the subject of lesbianism. \n Audiences flocked to see the movie. Across India, "FIRE" played to sold-out houses and received rave reviews. \n This month, the protesters swung into action, mostly led by the Shiv Sena Party, a Hindu fundamentalist group. Twice, more than 200 protesters attacked theaters, broke display windows, damaged ticket counters and burned posters. \n One of the biggest protests occurred in Delhi, where about 600 Shiv Sena followers, mostly women, burst into a theater and forced the audience members out. In another protest, outside the home of popular actor Dilip Kumar, a star of the film, men dropped their trousers to protest obscenity. \n Why the fuss? According to Sudha Churi, head of the women's wing of the opposition, the movie is offensive to Indian society and to everyone who sees it. "This film will spoil the new generation and fill their minds with vile thoughts and ideas," she said. \n The protests have begun to get results. The distributor has pulled the film, citing fear for the safety of audiences. The movie has been resubmitted to the Central Board for reconsideration. Even Mehta, the director, has been surprised by the level of protest against her film. \n The film's supporters have not give up. The director and six others have taken the Shiv Sena party to the Supreme Court. One of the film's stars, Shabana Azmi, also an influential member of Parliament, let a candlelight protest against the censorship. \n Americans who want to see what the fuss is about can pick up a copy of the video, released in November by New Yorker Video.
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