Bollywood
loves
to
play
with
fire.
In
Amazon
Prime
Video’s
upcoming
original
movie,
Agni,
directed
by
Rahul
Dholakia,
a
firefighter
investigates
the
rising
frequency
of
mysterious
fires
in
the
city.
Causing
mishaps,
evoking
fear,
underlining
danger
or
daredevilry,
a
symbol
of
fiery
passions
and
pain,
inspiring
titles
like
Aag,
Aag
Hi
Aag,
Aag
Ka
Gola,
Aag
Se
Khelenge
Hum,
Fire,
Mashaal,
Agnee,
Agneepath
and
Ram
Gopal
Varma
Ki
Aag,
fire
enjoys
a
significant
presence
in
our
movies.
Sukanya
Verma
recaps
Bollywood’s
fiery
moments.
Kalki
2898
AD
As
the
bearer
of
‘the
one’
prophesied
to
take
down
all
evil
in
Nag
Ashwin’s
Hollywood
dystopia
meets
Hindu
mythology
concoction,
Deepika
Padukone’s
mother
supreme,
literally,
walks
down
the
path
of
fire
and
proves
herself
worthy
of
the
foresight
against
a
blast
of
blaze.
Brahmastra
Part
One:
Shiva
Fire
dominates
most
frames
of
Brahmastra.
‘Kuch
rishta
hai
mera
aag
se,’
explains
Ranbir
Kapoor
only
to
learn
he’s
an
‘Agni
Astra’
as
part
of
Ayan
Mukerji’s
sprawling
superhero
universe
boasting
of
a
wildfire
of
a
climax.
Dabangg
3
Bollywood
doesn’t
need
fire-breathing
dragons
when
it
has
Bhai.
Agneepath
Speaking
of
climax,
Amitabh
Bachchan
lives
up
the
title
to
the
hilt
amidst
raging
explosions
in
the
fire
torn
Mandwa,
his
hometown
where
it
all
started,
as
he
reconciles
with
his
mother
and
recites
the
titular
poem.
1942:
A
Love
Story
Rebelling
against
the
British
Raj
brutality,
Jackie
Shroff’s
freedom
fighter
kicks
off
the
movement
once
he
sets
the
clock
tower
on
fire
and
charges
through
it
amid
burning
flames
and
bullet
shots
in
a
one
thrilling
moment.
Kalank
The
visual
of
Ravan’s
effigy
burned
is
a
striking
symbol
of
Dussehra
celebration
and
numerous
Bollywood
movies
have
used
it
to
intense
effect.
Few
though
can
boast
of
Kalank‘s
lyrical
quality,
doomed
fate
at
the
box
office,
notwithstanding.
Parinda
Nana
Patekar’s
pyrophobia
is
key
to
his
character’s
dark
past
and
destruction.
The
dread
that
is
born
out
of
the
guilt
from
burning
down
his
wife
and
child
alive
comes
to
a
full
circle
when
Jackie
Shroff
gives
him
a
dose
of
his
own
medicine
in
the
blazing,
brutal
finale.
Mother
India
During
the
dramatic
sequence
when
incensed
villagers
set
a
field
full
of
haystacks
on
fire,
Sunil
Dutt
and
Nargis
endangered
their
lives
on
screen
as
well
as
off
it.
Of
course,
the
latter
was
famously
rescued
by
her
co-star
and
the
rest
is
history.
Om
Shanti
Om
Fire
at
its
most
furious
plays
a
recurring
role
in
Farah
Khan’s
reincarnation
drama.
Be
it
Shah
Rukh
Khan
saving
Deepika
Padukone,
a
la
Sunil
Dutt
and
Nargis
in
Mother
India,
to
their
tragic
deaths
in
a
studio
fire
set
by
Arjun
Rampal,
setting
the
stage
for
fiery
retribution
in
its
thrilling
climax.
The
Burning
Train
The
title
of
B
R
Chopra’s
big-budget
disaster
movie
says
it
all.
Dharmendra,
Vinod
Khanna,
Jeetendra,
Hema
Malini,
Neetu
Singh,
Parveen
Babi
headline
the
multi-starrer
about
a
bomb
going
off
in
a
bullet
train
full
of
passengers.
Aag
In
Raj
Kapoor’s
directorial
debut,
the
actor
plays
a
man
recalling
the
events
from
his
childhood,
adolescence
and
youth,
until
the
fateful
moment
his
face
was
disfigured
in
a
fire,
to
his
bride
on
their
wedding
night.
Padmaavat
Deepika
Padukone’s
much
talked
about
‘jauhar‘
scene
—
the
act
of
self-immolation
performed
by
Rani
Padmavati
and
her
fellow
women
to
protect
their
honour
against
the
lustful
Khilji
and
his
army
—
forms
the
focus
of
Sanjay
Leela
Bhansali’s
opulent
yet
controversial
climax.
RRR
Where
NTR
Jr
embodies
water,
Ram
Charan
Teja
is
fire.
Their
clashing,
contrasting
elements
of
nature
powers
RRR‘s
over-the-top
imagery
to
the
hilt.
Bahu
Begum
In
classic
Muslim
social
tradition,
no
soon
Ashok
Kumar
learns
his
feelings
for
Meena
Kumari
are
one-sided
and
she
has
only
space
for
Pradeep
Kumar
in
her
heart,
his
Nawab
burns
the
palace
down
to
ashes,
leaving
no
trace
of
his
memory
behind.
Roja
Though
his
hands
are
tied,
Arvind
Swamy
leaps
without
a
thought
to
save
the
national
flag
from
the
wrath
of
ruthless
terrorists
eager
to
set
it
on
fire
in
an
emotionally-charged
moment
of
Roja.
Aatish
What
happens
when
shola
and
aatish
collide?
Sanjay
Dutt
and
Aditya
Pancholi
give
us
a
hunky
demonstration
as
they
race
fire
in
Sanjay
Gupta’s
slick
action
masala.
Tridev
When
baddies
try
to
burn
him
alive
but
fail,
he
retaliates
by
burning
down
their
warehouse
in
flames.
That’s
Sunny
Deol
for
‘it’s
not
personal,
it’s
strictly
business.’
Koyla
Koyla
didn’t
set
the
box
office
on
fire
but
the
image
of
Shah
Rukh
Khan,
playing
a
mute
after
Amrish
Puri
shoves
hot
coal
down
his
throat
as
a
kid,
running
in
an
overlay
in
flames
(a
stunt
he
performed
on
his
own)
certainly
caught
eyeballs.
Dil
Se..
With
passion
that
burns
as
potently
as
fire,
SRK
seldom
wore
his
King
of
Romance
title
lightly.
Balwaan
Suniel
Shetty
in
a
silver
bunker
suit
accepting
the
deadly
Aag
Ka
Kua
challenge
made
a
lasting
impression
in
his
debut
Balwaan,
a
sight
that
’90s
kids
will
enthusiastically
remember.
Hit:
The
First
Case
Pyrophobia
is
often
a
PTSD
trope
in
our
movies.
Quite
like
Parinda,
Rajkummar
Rao’s
horrific
memories
of
watching
a
loved
one
burn
before
his
eyes
makes
him
uneasy
around
the
fire.
Hum
Danny
Denzongpa
displays
some
anxiety
around
fire
for
the
exact
same
reasons
after
his
home,
family
are
set
to
flames
—
a
tragedy
he
holds
Amitabh
Bachchan
responsible
for
in
Mukul
Anand’s
crowd-pleaser,
Hum.
Krrish
What
better
spectacle
to
highlight
Hrithik
Roshan’s
heroics
than
him
playing
saviour
amidst
a
circus
on
fire?
Hum
Dil
De
Chuke
Sanam
Portrait
of
a
lady
on
fire,
Bhansali
style.
Tumbbad
Among
Tumbbad‘s
several
striking
images
is
the
use
of
light
and
fire
turning
its
most
dangerous
creatures
and
dim-lit
spaces
a
source
of
ferocious
action.
Masaan
In
Neeraj
Ghaywan’s
sublime
drama,
a
young
man
working
at
the
cremation
ghats
of
Varanasi
is
left
devastated
when
he
discovers
his
ladylove’s
body
is
destined
for
the
same
horrific
fire
and
fate.
Junoon
Rahul
Roy’s
luck
runs
out
as
soon
as
the
fire
keeps
a
man-eating
tiger
at
bay
and
transforms
him
into
a
beastly
predator
in
Mahesh
Bhatt’s
tawdry
horror
film.
Aradhana
There
is
no
smoke,
correction,
sex
without
fire.
That’s
how
Bollywood
did
it
anyway
when
campfires
played
scorching
spectators
to
all
the
sizzling
action
between
the
hero
and
heroine.
Dil
Broken
furniture,
check,
matchbox,
check,
seven
pheras
check.
Back
when
the
‘agni
ko
sakshi
maan
ke‘
brand
of
rebellious,
spontaneous
shaadis
used
to
be
commonplace
in
Bollywood
movies.
Baahubali:
The
Beginning
Katappa
stabbing
Baahubali
in
the
back
against
a
gigantic
fire
and
the
staggering
‘why’
it
led
to
is
the
single
most
greatest
visual
and
movie
question
of
the
last
decade.
