20 GAY People's ChrONICLE MARCH 21, 1997

EVENINGS OUT

A sensual view of a time when sexuality was sacred

Kama Sutra, A Tale of Love Written and directed by Mira Nair Trimark Pictures

Reviewed by Doreen Cudnik Prepared like a sumptuous, sensual banquet table, Kama Sutra is an elegant feast for the senses.

Set in 16th-century India at the time of the Islamic invasions, the film is the story of two girls, Tara and Maya, friends from youth, but separated by a caste system that clearly determines what their life will be.

Tara is the daughter of a king; Maya, her servant girl. Maya accepts her lot in life, but is determined not to let it destroy her spirit. When Tara's brother, a much older hunchback prince, tells Maya, "Someday, I will be king and you will be my queen-and my slave" Maya responds, "I'm no one's slave."

Because she is always close to the princess, Maya benefits from the training that Tara is put through about how to be a "proper" Indian woman— which in 16th century India was defined by your relationship to a man. Girls are instructed in the art of seduction, and they learn from a young age how to appear willing, yet not too eager since, as one of the older women explains, "Men despise things that are easily acquired." Virginity at the time of marriage is, of course, a must.

Although they have been friends since early childhood, competition between them brews below the surface. Maya, aware of her feminine powers at a very early age, is comfortable in her maturing body, while Tara is awkward and less sure of herself. Maya is a natural at the "dance of enticement," using her eyes to excite.

When Tara finds herself threatened by her servant and friend, she uses her social position to lash out at her. Being the princess has its perks, and Tara often publicly humiliates Maya by giving her clothing and other items that she has grown tired of using. It is Tara, after all, by virtue of her birth, that is being trained to someday be a queen. The day arrives when a young king, Raj Singh, arrives from a neighboring empire to make her his wife.

The marriage is an arranged one, its primary purpose to strengthen the alliance of kingdoms against oncoming attacks. Tara is prepared by the older women and put on display for her future husband to inspect. Problem is, the king has already scen Maya, and he tells one of his attendants, "I've found my lotus woman.'

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When Tara sees Raj Singh's eyes wander

to Maya while he is supposed to be checking her out, she spits at her rival and orders her to her room, setting in motion a chain of events that will change their relationship forever.

On the eve of the king's wedding to Tara, Maya, unhappy about having been humiliated, plans her revenge. Maya brings a tray of food to Raj Singh's tent, and offers him “something to sweeten your tongue.”

"This is all I need to sweeten my tongue," the king says, caressing her hips. The two make love, and their illicit union is witnessed by Tara's brother. As Tara says goodbye and prepares to leave with her new husband, Maya informs her of her retaliation with smug satisfaction. "All my life I've lived with your used things," she says. "but now something I have used is yours forever."

Tara's brother feels that his knowledge of Maya's indiscretion will give him some leverage with her. When Maya rejects his proposal of marriage, he exposes her crime. Maya is branded a whore and banished from the palace. As she walks away, the angry prince throws a string of bells to her, and says, "Take these bells with you so that one will know the whore is coming."

Maya wanders through the kingdom, lost and lonely, until a sculptor, Jai Kumar, sees her bathing in the river Ganges and is taken by her beauty. The son of a courtesan, Jai Kumar takes Maya to Rasa Devi, a priestess of sensuality who was the chief courtesan in the court of Raj Singh's father. She now instructs young women in the art of the Kama Sutra.

Seeing the potential for greatness in Maya, Rasa Devi takes her in. She teaches Maya that "honor and shame are two sides of the same coin," and tells her that she could become a great courtesan. Idealistic about love, Maya rejects the courtesan training, hoping that Jai Kumar will make her his lover. When Jai tells Maya not to fall in love with him, she finally agrees to become Rasa Devi's pupil.

Of course, there are a lot same-sex images here, since the girls have to demonstrate techniques and positions with each other when being taught the Kama Sutra.

Tara is a disappointment to her new husband sexually, and he does nothing to hide his frustration. So obsessed is he by the memory of his tryst with Maya, that he sets out to find her and make her a courtesan in his harem. Out walking through his kingdom, he happens upon Jai Kumar, and recognizes Maya as the inspiration for one of his sculptures. Maya is eventually found with Rasa Devi, and brought back to the king's palace. Tara, now the queen, is less than thrilled to

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see Maya being bathed and prepared for her first night as courtesan to the king. "Adjust," she is told by the kings' mother, "there are courtesans and there are wives-there are dozens like her, but you are queen."

But Maya, knowing she is the object of the king's desire, relishes her power over Tara. The women have become equals--both queens in many respects, yet also slaves.

When Jai Kumar, who now regrets rejecting Maya, is

summoned to the palace in order to carve her image across the king's bedroom ceiling, he and Maya are reunited. Maya's love for Jai Kumar leads Maya and Tara to a reconciliation, and in a touching scene, Maya consoles her

Servant girl Maya is prepared for her first night as courtesan to the king.

and says, "We shall not surrender to despair I survived you, now you must find a way to survive me.”

Maya begins to teach Tara the art of the Kama Sutra, in the hopes that it will give them both the freedom they long for-for Tara, freedom from a loveless marriage, and for Maya, the freedom to be with her true love, Jai Kumar.

Instructing Tara on how to excite the king, Maya says, "I'll show you how to mark him, but first I'll mark you." After kissing and biting Tara's thighs, Maya says, “He will know a woman made these marks and it will excite him." (Some things never change.)

While the film is not a lesbian film, it is full of sensual imagery that will be pleasing to people of all sexual orientations. In director Nair's mind, the eros of the film is not about the scenes of lovemaking, but “in the sensuality of everyday life in this period, of the way these characters live and dress and move." Cinematographer Declan Quinn paints a picture of 16th century India with a palate that includes rich golds, reds and purples.

Newcomer Indira Varma (Maya) lights up the screen each time she appears, and Sarita Choudhury (Tara-previously seen in Mississippi Masala and Salaam Bombay!) also shines. And all men should be as gorgeous as Ramon Tikaram (Jai Kumar) and Naveen Andrews (Raj Singh—currently in The English Patient) Visually, this film is breathtaking.

Most importantly, this film takes a look at ancient cultural teachings that considered sex a sacred and spiritual endeavor. Interest. ingly, after centuries of occupation by for. eign countries with strict taboos on sex, Indian culture has become so far removed from its earlier attitudes that this film may not be seen in the country where it was filmed.el

"India has gotten so far away from the native spirit that created the Kama Sutra,” Nair said. "Sexuality is so repressed now, so twisted, especially in the media.”

Once a country where the kings commissioned paintings of themselves in various sexual positions inspired by the Kama Sutra, and gods and goddesses were often depicted having sex, India now censors all direct physi cal contact in movies and on television. Scenes of rape and violence against women, however, get past the censors.

"I wanted to make a film that countered the sickness and perversity, where women were concerned, on the Indian screen," Nair said.

Kama Sutra is currently stalled in the Indian bureaucratic process of "certification," making the release of the film there uncertain. It will, however, open in theaters around Ohio. Kama Sutra opens March 21 at the Centrum Theater, 2781 Euclid Hts. Blvd. in Cleveland; and on March 28 at the Drexel: Theatre, 2254 East Main Street in Columbus, and the Esquire Theatre at 320 Ludlow Ave. in Cincinnati. ปี

THINAHA

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