The ‘Kama Sutra’ is an ancient Indian text of Vatsayana's which translates as ‘Lessons of Love’. It has become a legend and has become a well known name worldwide. It is about the spiritual and physical pleasures of love and sex.
A close friend of mine got this on DVD, he lent it to me (he actually forced me to borrow it, he reckons ‘he’d get a kick out of knowing that I’d sat down and watched it’). Intrigued I thought I’d find out what all the fuss was about. Well here is my two-pence worth on the film:
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PLOT
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The film is set in 16th Century India and the story revolves around the central characters Maya and Tara. The film begins by introducing them as young girls both raised together. Tara (played by Sarita Choudhury) is a princess destined to marry a Raj and become Queen. Maya (played by Indira Varma) is a maid as well as friend of Tara.
Once they grow up there is an element of rivalry between the two women. Maya is incensed in her lowly position, receiving Tara's hand-me-downs. This culminates in Maya’s decision to seduce Tara’s husband-to-be King, Raj Singh (played by Naveen Andrews). Although he isn‘t exactly fighting her off. As Tara is leaving her family after the wedding Maya tells Tara that it is she who now has a cast off from Maya. Once Tara leaves with her husband, Maya’s betrayal is exposed to all by Tara’s hunchbacked brother (who looks old enough to be her father) who is consumed with jealousy as he wanted Maya for himself. Maya is thrown out of the house by Tara’s family.
After leaving the house Maya meets Jai Kumar (played by Ramon Tikaram), a sculptor (and a Courtesan’s lovechild) of Raj Singh’s royal household. There is an instant chemistry between them, Jai introduces Maya to Rasa Devi (played by Rekha), a former Courtesan who teaches the ways of the Kama Sutra in a school for courtesans. Maya joins the commune and learns about the text of the Kama Sutra.
This is all I am willing to give away about the plot. The rest of the film explores the complex relationships of the four main characters.
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BEHIND THE SCENES
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Mira Nair, director of masterpieces "Salaam Bombay" and "Mississippi Masala" and the hugely successful "Monsoon Wedding" has become well-respected in her field . Unfortunately in comparison Kama Sutra falls flat on its face. The problem is the structure and inherent contradictions which I’ll discuss later.
Cinematographer Declan Quinn brings some dazzling and luscious backgrounds to please they eye. The colours you see are good enough to eat, burnt oranges, golds, and yellows dilate your pupils and make the scenery look more authentic.
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CHARACTERS
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Indira Varma- this is actually her screen debut. This amazed me due to the confidence she has and her role has full frontal nudity which is not the typical debut role for an Asian actress. She is excellent as the captivating Maya, with a provocative sensuality that has a modern appeal too. I really don’t think it was an accident that she is lighter-skinned than Tara, the casting just perpetrates the myth in Indian culture that fairer skin is more attractive.
Realistically it would be the other way round.
Sarita Choudhury- was in "Mississippi Masala" . She is brilliant as the slightly spoiled princess. Her expression is just right when she is eaten up with jealousy.
Rekha- the fantastic dusky Bollywood actress. Even though she is given awful one-liner dialogues such as "Since when are women helpless?" she doesn’t lose her dignity. I think she is a faultless actress and it is a huge shame she was not given a better role to really sink her teeth into.
Naveen Andrews- he is okay in his role, I guess it’s not his fault the character is annoying. The spoiled King who falls into Opium oblivion, unfortunately none of us care what happens to him.
Ramon Tikaram- I’m sorry but whenever I see this man all I remember is him in a compromising position with a ginger bloke in ‘This Life’. I don’t think he is attractive, and I can’t help but think he is gay after watching him in ‘This Life’.
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SOUNDTRACK
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‘Kama Sutra’ has an a brilliant soundtrack that works with the film well. Mychael Danna has brought together names such as Ustad Vilayat Khan, Aruna Narayan Kalle, Shubha Mudgal, L. Subramaniam and Iqbal Bano. There is good combination of Indian classical music and more contemporary rhythm and percussion which accompanies the beautiful scenery in the film perfectly.
My personal favourites have to be "The Toona Song" which is written by Madan Gopal Singh, and "Merging" which is written and performed by Ustad Vilayat H. Khan.
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OVERALL OPINION
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On the positive side the cinematography and landscape were stunning and magnificent throughout the film. The way Mira Nair shows the uniqueness of India is wonderful. From the vivid colours, splendid costumes and jewellery, the exquisite palace and backgrounds are worth watching the film for if you appreciate such things.
Now the pitfalls- ‘Kama Sutra’ is an English-language production, trust me this makes the whole film seem like a sham. All the effort of creating the authentic 16th Century India goes down the drain. This is a film that needed to be in Hindi, the logic behind it being made in English makes no sense whatsoever. I am guessing that this film is aimed at English and American audiences and so they went with the English script. What they failed to understand is that it doesn’t work for the plot, how many Indians spoke in English in 16th Century India? It sounds too modern for the time it is too be set in.
Here the contradictions come in. The producers want to cash in on the Kama Sutra concept, they know it will attract a lot of attention and interest. However they don’t see the idea through. It should have been made as authentic as possible, comprehensive and exhaustive research should have been undertaken about the Kama Sutra. Instead they weave a weak soap opera plot into the film. All the characters are two-dimensional, though part of this can be due to the fact that the English dialogues don’t work at all.
The sex scenes in the film though explicit have the touches of a female eye.
There is the focus on the feet, and the strong back of Jai. However the sex scenes seem to lack passion, it is really difficult to explain why. You tend to get the impression that the male characters in question would shag any woman at that moment- they don’t seem to be that interested in Maya outside the bedroom. Also as we the audience don’t know anything about Maya (what makes her tick etc) therefore we don’t understand the obsession the blokes develop for her. Notably the King who can have his pick of any Courtesan in the Harem, why go so nutty over Maya? Ooops sorry I forgot it’s the soap opera plot again.
There does seem moments where the director has made feeble attempts of bringing feminist ideals into the film. For example when Rasa Devi is teaching the Courtesans how to keep the power by being sexually assertive. Maybe Nair was trying to show a strong female sexuality, but the character is just a muddle.
Overall ``Kama Sutra'' is an artificial and unconvincing story. The idea seems to be leave your brain at home and just enjoy the cinematography. My mate admits to watching it with the sound down- I guess it’s just a posh soft-porn film. Not recommended by me, unless you're a bloke and fancy the women in it.
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DVD SPECIAL FEATURES
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* Featurette trailer
* Behind the scenes Documentary
* Interviews with Cast members and Director
Length of film: 109mins
Thanks for reading- (bleeding hell it wasn't supposed to be this long)!
Sucking Rubbish 
