Kama Sutra

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Kama Sutra

R

1996

1h 54m

Romance

LGBTQ+

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

41%

Tomatometer

17 Reviews

71%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

In 16th-century India, Princess Tara (Sarita Choudhury) is raised alongside her maid Maya (Indira Varma). The two best friends turn into enemies when Tara becomes engaged to King Raj Singh (Naveen Andrews). Embittered by Tara's sudden poor treatment of her, Maya sleeps with Raj on his wedding night and is expelled from the palace. With her mastery of sexual technique, Maya continues to entice Raj, who is too distracted by hedonistic pursuits to realize his kingdom is in danger.

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Critics Consensus

Kama Sutra refreshingly approaches sensuality from a female perspective, but audiences will be turned off by this romance's silly plotting.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

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.

Rated: 2/4

Jan 1, 2000

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Mira Nair's film fails as a melodrama as well as erotic fantasy; the sexul material had to be toned down due to censorship.

Rated: C

Apr 5, 2011

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Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

"Kama Sutra," while easy to look at, is even easier to laugh at.

Rated: F

Aug 4, 2007

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Michael Dequina

TheMovieReport.com

Rated: 2/5

Jan 3, 2005

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

It all seemed inane.

Rated: C-

Jan 4, 2004

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Greg Muskewitz

eFilmCritic.com

Rated: 3/5

Dec 30, 2003

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Athena Y

I personally found it enchanting. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys romance and historical fiction. This movie provides an interesting perception of this time period through the characters. I loved seeing the culture of this time period. The love story overall was very nice and the characters I found very intriguing. If you haven't seen it and like a good tragic love story I would give it a shot.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/05/25

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Steve D

Indira is better than the material.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

09/18/23

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Audience Member

Indian sex skills different from Europe

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Wow, Indians make some good movie. Visually beautiful, intense, good acting, good story. Flows well. Just a good movie about love, jealousy, power, gluttony, competition

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

dustin d

Kama Sutra is lovely to look at, but I had a hard time getting engaged, even though there is a lot of drama. I liked it best when the characters were being over-the-top evil, but none of them ever became anything more than a cardboard cutout. The movie was melodramatic and filled with laughable, contrived dialogue.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

Gloriously lensed and seething with erotic Indian mysticism, it is a fairly affecting tale about the tragic afflictions a young woman's amorous beauty brings upon herself and her kingdom.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

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Mira Nair

Director

Indira Varma

Maya

Sarita Choudhury

Tara, the Queen

Ramon Tikaram

Jai Kumar

Naveen Andrews

Raj Singh

Rekha

Rasa Devi, teacher of the Kama Sutra

Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love: Official Clip - Exhilaration is My Department

0:56

Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love: Official Clip - You Will Die

1:58

Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love: Official Clip - You Have No Power Over Me

2:59

Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love: Official Clip - Free Him

1:58

Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love: Official Clip - Fight Me

1:54

Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love: Official Clip - Position Lesson

1:04

Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love: Official Clip - I Belong to Him Now

2:04

Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love: Official Clip - Sculpt Her

2:00

Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love: Official Clip - You're Welcome to Live With Us

1:44

Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love: Official Clip - I Work With My Hands

2:12

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Synopsis

In 16th-century India, Princess Tara (Sarita Choudhury) is raised alongside her maid Maya (Indira Varma). The two best friends turn into enemies when Tara becomes engaged to King Raj Singh (Naveen Andrews). Embittered by Tara's sudden poor treatment of her, Maya sleeps with Raj on his wedding night and is expelled from the palace. With her mastery of sexual technique, Maya continues to entice Raj, who is too distracted by hedonistic pursuits to realize his kingdom is in danger.

Director: Mira Nair
Producer: Mira Nair, Lydia Dean Pilcher
Screenwriter: Mira Nair, Helena Kriel, Wajida Tabassuh
Production Co: Trimark Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Romance, LGBTQ+
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 28, 1996, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 1, 2010
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.1M
Runtime: 1h 54m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby Digital

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