Bollywood's pioneering lesbian drama - a podcast by BBC World Service

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)

Further episodes of Witness History

Further podcasts by BBC World Service

Website of BBC World Service