Dharm (film)

Dharm
Movie poster for Dharm
Directed by	Bhavna Talwar
Written by	Varun Gautam Vibha Singh
Starring	Pankaj Kapoor Hrishitaa Bhatt Supriya Pathak
Editing by	Steven Bernard
Release date(s)	8 June 2007 (2007-06-08)
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Dharm (English: Religion) is a 2007 Hindi film directed by Bhavna Talwar and starring Pankaj Kapoor and Supriya Pathak in lead roles. This debut film of the director^[1] is based around the theme of communal harmony. Most of it is shot in Varanasi.

At the 2007 National Film Award, it won the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration.^[2]

Plot

The story is based in Benares and is about Pandit Chaturvedi (Pankaj Kapoor), a highly revered and learned Brahmin priest. A baby is abandoned by a woman and brought to his house by his daughter. He agrees to adopt the child due to requests from his wife (Supriya Pathak). Life takes a turn when the boy's mother returns: The family finds out that the boy is Muslim after they have become attached to him. The family gives back the boy to his mother. Chaturvedi engulfs himself in purification processes to cleanse his body, mind, and soul due to contact with a Muslim soul. By the time Chaturvedi thinks he is fully purified, the child reappears — seeking refuge, due to Hindu-Muslim riots. This is when Chaturvedi realizes that the true religion is humanity.

Critical reception

Dharma was premiered^[3] at the 60th Cannes Film Festival and became the closing film of the World Cinema Section at the festival; it was also the official Indian entry to the Festival.^[1] It was screened at 38th International Film Festival of India (2007), in Goa, and later went to film festivals like the Cancun Film Festival, Mexico; Asian Festival of First Films, Singapore; and the Palms Spring Festival, California.^[4] The film was awarded the Swarovski Trophy for Best Film at the Asian Festival of First Films.^[5]

At home, though it wasn't a box office success, it opened to excellent reviews from the critics^[6] and later the world rights of the film were acquired by Films Distribution, France.^[7]

Dharm was embroiled in a controversy in India, where it became one of finalist for India's official entry to the Oscars, a race it lost to Eklavya: The Royal Guard.^[8]

Cast

• Pankaj Kapoor
• Supriya Pathak
• Hrishitaa Bhatt
• Nazrana
• K. K. Raina
• Daya Shanker Pandey

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Soundtrack of Cannes Fest entry 'Dharm' launched entertainment.oneindia, Thursday, 17 May 2007
2. ^ "55th NATIONAL FILM AWARDS FOR THE YEAR 2007". Press Information Bureau (Govt. of India). http://pib.nic.in/archieve/others/2009/sep/r2009090707.pdf. 
3. ^ Cannes World Premiere for Bhavna Talwar’s Dharm screenindia, The Indian Express Group, 4 May 2007.
4. ^ Bhavna Talwar’s Dharm to be screened at the IFFI-2007 merinews, 16 November 2007
5. ^ "Awards for Dharm (2007)". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1047459/awards. Retrieved 2009-02-07. 
6. ^ Dharm - Movie Review IndiaFM, Friday, 8 June 2007.
7. ^ Bhavna Talwar, Creative Director wsgpictures
8. ^ "India's entry to Oscars caught in a legal tangle". Reuters India. 2007-09-29. http://in.reuters.com/article/hollywood/idINDEL9964020070929. Retrieved 2007-11-14. 

External links

• Dharm at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website
• Bhavna Talwar interview on her film Dharma