424:, Tara is a princess while Maya is her beautiful servant. They are best friends, but there is an undercurrent of jealousy and resentment, symbolised by the fact that Maya is given Tara's hand-me-down clothes and never anything new to wear. As the girls approach marriageable age, Tara resents that Maya is a better classical dancer than she is and that her parents and hunchback brother, Prince Bikram (a.k.a "Biki") show affection for her servant.
470:
humiliate his wife. Tara tells Raj that she doesn't even love him enough to hate him and leaves. Maya visits Jai one last time. Telling Jai she is his forever, Maya hacks off her long hair, symbolising that she will be his widow. Maya then tries her best to persuade Raj to free Jai by promising him her total surrender, but Raj rejects her plea.
465:
inches closer. Raj becomes increasingly irresponsible, descending into opium addiction and sexual debauchery. After he insults Biki, Biki writes a letter to the shah to rid the kingdom of Raj, who now taxes the poor for his own perverted pleasure. Jai and Maya rekindle their passion and the two begin
427:
Tara is prepared to marry Prince Raj Singh, but when the prince comes to view his future wife, he is instantly infatuated with Maya instead. Noticing this, Tara spits in Maya's face and sends her from the wedding in tears. Maya takes revenge by seeking out Raj and having sex with him, before he has
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After finding Tara in the midst of a suicide attempt, Maya reconciles with her childhood friend. Maya then teaches Tara how to seduce the king, while Tara promises to help Maya escape to visit Jai. However, when Tara goes to her husband, he recognises Maya's style of seduction and again tries to
431:
As Tara is leaving home as a newlywed, Maya tells her that just as Maya wore the princess's used clothes all her life, Tara will now have something Maya has used. During her wedding night, Tara is hesitant to consummate their relationship. An angry Raj rapes his horrified bride, even calling her
439:, and she is forced to leave her home. Wandering on her own, she meets a young stone sculptor, Jai Kumar, who works for Raj. He reveals that Maya has been the inspiration for his beautiful and highly erotic statues. Jai takes her to an older woman named Rasa Devi, who is a teacher of the
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when we were filming it," she said. "It was untitled. And then it says in the script, they make love. When you're young and naive and stupid you don't process the idea that it will take one day with your kit off to shoot that sentence".
454:. Soon after, Raj and Jai have a wrestling competition, which Jai wins. Jai receives the king's favour but is warned that there will be dire consequences if he defeats the king again. Jai then learns of Maya's new status as the favoured
443:. Maya begins an intense romantic and sexual relationship with Jai that is abruptly halted when he fears he might not be able to work properly with Maya consuming his thoughts. Maya finds comfort with Rasa Devi and decides to learn the
31:
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to compose the score and soundtrack for the film, but he turned down the opportunity citing he was uncomfortable with the film's title. He noted that he did not want international audiences to brand him as "the composer of
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meeting in secret. As tensions between Jai and Raj grow, Maya and Jai exchange wedding vows in private. Raj later catches the two lovers together and sentences Jai to death.
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gave it two out of four, and wrote: "The film is lush and voluptuous to regard, but I expected more from Mira Nair, and I was disappointed. She is better than this work."
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Maya, setting a tone of violence and humiliation for the marriage. Despite this, Tara still yearns for a loving relationship with her indifferent husband.
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Raj, now the king, recognises Maya in one of Jai's sculptures. He dispatches his attendants to find Maya; she is delivered to the king as his new
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refreshingly approaches sensuality from a female perspective, but audiences will be turned off by this romance's silly plotting."
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while Maya watches from the crowd. As soldiers of the invading Shah take the king's palace, Maya walks away into the distance.
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579:, the film received 40% positive reviews from 20 professional critics. The website's critical consensus reads: "
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said she did not realize when she read the script there would be explicit scenes in the film. "It wasn't called
458:. Jai understands that his king is a dangerous man and he must keep his former relationship with Maya a secret.
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Just before the execution, a box arrives from the shah, holding the severed head of Raj's brother, the grand
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completed the marriage rites with Tara; Biki, hiding, watches the two of them.
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854:"Movies that banned by Indian Censor Board, but viewers loved them"
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344:. The film takes its title from the ancient Indian text, the
824:"9 films banned in India that you will really want to watch"
798:"INDIA: SHOOTING BEGINS ON KAMA SUTRA MOVIE – AP Archive"
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was nominated for the Golden
Seashell award at the 1996
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in India due to its erotic theme and sexual content.
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394:Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography
766:Takes Top Honors at Independent Spirit Awards"
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604:Tales of The Kama Sutra: The Perfumed Garden
370:. The English-language film was produced by
884:"I n t e r v i e w - a r rahman netservice"
461:In the meantime, the threat of an invading
1051:
1037:
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704:Mercy in Her Eyes: The Films of Mira Nair
402:San Sebastián International Film Festival
332:co-written, co-produced, and directed by
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890:from the original on 25 September 2010
729:"Seduction, A Skill That Gets Results"
682:from the original on 15 December 2018
7:
920:from the original on 29 January 2022
778:from the original on 5 November 2012
741:from the original on 23 January 2017
666:
664:
760:Welkos, Robert W. (22 March 1998).
672:"Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1997)"
523:as Rasa Devi, teacher of Kama Sutra
517:as Vazir, The King's Prime Minister
234:Toronto International Film Festival
804:from the original on 29 March 2017
639:"Kama Sutra A Tale of Love (1997)"
611:Tales of The Kama Sutra 2: Monsoon
14:
864:from the original on 17 July 2016
834:from the original on 27 June 2019
575:On the review aggregator website
973:from the original on 4 June 2022
1304:Films about courtesans in India
1289:Obscenity controversies in film
1244:English-language Japanese films
1:
1279:Films scored by Mychael Danna
1259:Films based on the Kama Sutra
1239:English-language German films
1234:English-language Indian films
1314:1990s English-language films
1309:Films based on short fiction
1294:Films shot in Madhya Pradesh
1165:The Reluctant Fundamentalist
961:"Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love"
1254:Films directed by Mira Nair
1224:Indian erotic romance films
707:. Hal Leonard Corporation.
701:Muir, John Kenneth (2006).
224:11 September 1996
1350:
1249:Films set in ancient India
1097:Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love
1019:Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love
1008:Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love
997:Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love
940:Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love
396:for his work in the film.
319:Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love
239:28 February 1997
24:Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love
1067:
35:Theatrical release poster
28:
1334:Film censorship in India
535:as Rasa Devi's courtesan
404:and was screened at the
1219:Films shot in Rajasthan
910:"Varma speaks her mind"
1274:Trimark Pictures films
643:British Film Institute
618:Kamasutra: The Revenge
186:Pandora Filmproduktion
1269:Japanese erotic films
858:Daily Pakistan Global
499:as Tara, the princess
340:by the Indian writer
1324:1990s Japanese films
1214:British Indian films
1209:British erotic films
1137:New York, I Love You
1113:Hysterical Blindness
479:executed by elephant
406:Cannes Film Festival
247: (United States)
1319:1990s British films
1299:Mirabai Films films
1264:German erotic films
649:on 26 December 2018
1329:1990s German films
1229:Films set in India
1081:Mississippi Masala
1059:Films directed by
734:The New York Times
571:Critical reception
310:$ 8.6 million
191:Channel Four Films
95:Lydia Dean Pilcher
1191:
1190:
966:Chicago Sun-Times
771:Los Angeles Times
714:978-1-55783-649-6
591:Chicago Sun-Times
322:is a 1996 Indian
315:
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177:NDF International
1341:
1148:(2008, Segment:
1089:The Perez Family
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645:. Archived from
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420:In 16th-century
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975:. Retrieved
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957:Ebert, Roger
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647:the original
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560:Indira Varma
558:
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549:A. R. Rahman
543:
527:Harish Patel
511:as Jai Kumar
505:as Raj Singh
491:Indira Varma
472:
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426:
419:
397:
390:Declan Quinn
388:
368:Indira Varma
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330:romance film
318:
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256:Running time
142:Declan Quinn
129:Indira Varma
70:Helena Kriel
15:
1121:Vanity Fair
868:8 September
838:8 September
828:India Today
686:12 December
653:12 December
587:Roger Ebert
533:Zoya Akhtar
515:Avijit Dutt
350:. It stars
300:$ 3 million
260:117 minutes
181:Pony Canyon
90:Produced by
41:Directed by
1204:1996 films
1198:Categories
924:29 January
782:1 February
625:References
581:Kama Sutra
564:Kama Sutra
554:Kama Sutra
540:Production
441:Kama Sutra
398:Kama Sutra
347:Kama Sutra
324:historical
306:Box office
243:1997-02-28
228:1996-09-11
167:Production
51:Written by
18:1996 film
1061:Mira Nair
545:Mira Nair
529:as Doctor
477:. Jai is
456:concubine
452:courtesan
445:courtesan
334:Mira Nair
265:Countries
169:companies
148:Edited by
97:Mira Nair
72:Mira Nair
62:Mira Nair
54:Mira Nair
45:Mira Nair
1002:AllMovie
971:Archived
918:Archived
888:Archived
862:Archived
832:Archived
802:Archived
776:Archived
739:Archived
680:Archived
597:See also
447:'s art.
288:Language
156:Music by
102:Starring
77:Based on
67:Story by
894:10 June
764:Apostle
745:2 March
589:of the
556:fame."
493:as Maya
376:British
291:English
277:Germany
241: (
226: (
80:"Utran"
1184:(2016)
1176:(2014)
1168:(2012)
1160:(2009)
1157:Amelia
1140:(2008)
1132:(2006)
1124:(2004)
1116:(2002)
1108:(2001)
1100:(1996)
1092:(1995)
1084:(1991)
1076:(1988)
977:4 June
808:9 June
711:
475:vizier
410:banned
380:German
372:Indian
327:erotic
296:Budget
232: (
521:Rekha
437:whore
422:India
364:Rekha
280:Japan
271:India
124:Rekha
1013:IMDb
979:2022
926:2022
896:2022
870:2018
840:2018
810:2016
784:2011
747:2017
709:ISBN
688:2018
655:2018
485:Cast
463:shah
416:Plot
382:and
366:and
338:Urdu
1022:at
1011:at
1000:at
943:at
82:by
1200::
969:.
963:.
916:.
912:.
886:.
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856:.
826:.
800:.
774:.
768:.
737:.
731:.
678:.
674:.
663:^
641:.
386:.
378:,
374:,
362:,
358:,
354:,
1152:)
1145:8
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