FEBRUARY 5: ``Arre Rekha ko dikha'' an impatient voice yelled out as the credits of Kama Sutra flashed on screen. That about set the decibel pitch for approximately three hours of cat calls, boos and jeers at the first day first show of Mira Nair's labour of love.Tamed by a six-month battle with the censor board which subjected the film to multiple cuts, Kama Sutra unspooled to a predominantly male audience in Metro cinema. Some had battled their way into the theatre as they would have to a strip show in a seedy pub.The film tells the sexcapades of four impeccably accented NRIs let loose on 16th century India - Navin Andrews, Ramon Tikaram, Indira Verma and Sarita Choudhary.Rekha, whose earlier foray into Kama Sutra territory in Shashi Kapoor's Utsav premiered in this theatre 13 years ago, plays a love guru. Well shot but poorly scripted, this film could well be running to packed houses for all the wrong reasons. The first few minutes in the house full confines of Metro dissolved Mira Nair'spassionate pleas to the censor board that the film was about the gentle art of love. Nobody cared a tad for such nuances which were instead replaced with ear shrivelling comments. For a moment it seemed as though the entire theatre had turned into one big front bench. ``The comments today are worse than what Bandit Queen got,'' said a theatre attendant visibly mortified by the earlier matinee show of Shekhar Kapoor's classic.Metro is currently screening this controversial film too which has had a fair share of audience participation. ``We're here to see how people in ancient India lived,'' says Mohammed Salim, suppressing a grin. ``It's a natural crowd reaction to such scenes isn't it?'' he reasons seriously.``Arre chaalu kar'' yelled the audience as advertisements flashed. The whistling had already acquired sonic proportions before the movie began. The audience egged the cast to get on with it. An enterprising viewer rolled cola bottles on the floor for added effect.The movie obliged with castmembers hopping into bed every other amber-tinted scene. That's when loud groans from the audience rent the theatre. And these weren't for Declan Quinn's spellbinding photography, but frustrated cries for the steamy scenes that were never shown thanks to censor scissors.Attention was reserved for the husky-voiced Rekha with the audience shouting entreaties to her. So when seductress Indira Verma purred on screen `exhilaration is my department,' nobody was listening.Outside, black marketeers did brisk business selling out shows, even as prospective audiences ogled at stills from the film.TrailerKamasutraDirector: Mira NairStarring: Rekha, Sarita Chowdhury, Indira Verma, Naveen AndrewsShowing at: SatyamSet in 16th century India, Kamasutra is the story about the many faces of love - passionate, unrequited, selfish and eternal. The film revolves around two girls - Maya (Indira Verma) and Tara (Sarita Chowdhury); one, a lowly servant girl, the other, a noble princess. Both havegrown up together as childhood friends and rivals. And are bound by ties that neither can unwind.While Tara wears fine silks and jewels and learns the etiquette of the Kama Sutra - the Indian book of love - from the famed teacher Rasa Devi (Rekha), Maya remains outside the royal circle and must be content with Tara's cast-offs. Despite her superior status and privilege, Tara is threatened by her beautiful rival Maya's natural sensuality and grace and often humiliates her publicly.On the eve of Tara's wedding to the great King, Raj Singh (Naveen Andrews), Maya who has long suffered at the hands of the imperious Tara, sees a way to exact her revenge. She slips into Raj Singh's bed chamber and uses her skills of seduction to tempt him. And the king is captivated by Maya's sensuality. But when her treachery is discovered, she is banished from the palace forever. Later, when Tara and Raj Singh consummate their marriage, he can think only of her rival Maya.Wandering through Raj Singh's kingdom, Mayaattracts the attention of Jai (Ramon Tikaram), the court sculptor. When he helps her find a place to live, Jai inadvertently brings Maya to Rasa Devi, who finally teaches her the ancient lessons of the Kama Sutra. Inspired by Maya's beauty and strength, Jai begins to sculpt her in stone for what will become his erotic masterpiece: the Lotus Woman. When Raj Singh sees the unfinished sculpture, he immediately recognises Maya and is determined to find her again.Maya soon becomes the King's cherished chief courtesan, the most revered position in the harem, and the only one that can threaten the security of the Queen, Tara. Finally, Maya achieves the equality with Tara that she has always desired and an emotional and sexual chess game ensues, with the four players - Maya, Tara, Jai and Raj Singh - fighting each other in a quest for love. A battle in which there are no rules and no order.Mira Nair's erotic tale found itself waging a war off-screen as well. The Censor Board refused to pass Kamasutra withoutcuts - changes that Nair felt would ruin her film. The director of films like Salaam Bombay and Mississippi Masala, finally relented and the film is being released after a protracted battle that took over a year to resolve. While the sensuous story will draw in audiences for a first viewing, those who have seen previews of the film have come away disappointed.Said one film critic, "The film even lacks in sensuality." However, Nair's forte - her direction and attention to detail still holds. The film is all about lush images shot with enchanting perfection and if nothing else, that should make for rivetting viewing.
