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Episode details

World Service,17 Feb 2022,9 mins

Bollywood's pioneering lesbian drama

Witness History

Available for over a year

The Bollywood film "Fire" was the first in Indian history to depict a lesbian relationship. Released in 1998, the movie sparked a row over censorship and then a wider debate about LGBT rights in a country where homosexuality was then illegal. In 2015, Lucy Burns met Bollywood superstar, Shabana Azmi, who played a lesbian in "Fire". PHOTO: Shabana Azmi (AFP)

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