Quote:
"Fire's significance lies not so much in representing sexual pleasure between women, as it does in representing this relationship in the context of a joint Hindu family household at the very moment when the Hindu Right is in power. The representation of a lesbian relationship in the film as well as the controversy that erupted around its screening are not fortuitous. Fire needs to be located in the broader cultural wars that have been exploding across [India] over the past several years."
-- Ratna Kapur

Source:
Kapur, Ratna. "Too Hot to Handle: The Cultural Politics of Fire." Feminist Review, no. 64 (Spring 2000). (p. 61)