''Dharm'' ( en, Religion) is a 2007 Hindi film directed by Bhavna Talwar, starring Pankaj Kapoor and

Supriya Pathak Supriya Pathak (born 7 January 1961) is an Indian actress who works in Gujarati and Hindi films and television. She has received multiple awards including three Filmfare Awards for Best Supporting Actress. She is mostly popular for playing the ...

in lead roles. This is the debut film of the director, it addresses 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 The Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organization set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one o ...

. The film was premiered in the Tous Les Cinemas du Monde (World Cinema) section of

2007 Cannes Film Festival The 60th Cannes Film Festival ran from 16 to 27 May 2007. The President of the Jury was British director Stephen Frears. Twenty two films from twelve countries were selected to compete for the Palme d'Or. The awards were announced on 26 May. '' 4 ...

Plot

The story is based in

Benares Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic tra ...

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 Parvati (

) and his daughter Vedika (Ananya Tripathi). Life takes a turn when the boy's mother returns and says that she lost her child during the communal riots. After 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 and a group of people chasing a Muslim man to slay. This is when Chaturvedi realizes the true meaning of scriptures, that the true religion is humanity. The movie ends with a message of communal harmony that "Dharm is not just penance and practice, Dharm is unity, Dharm is brotherhood, Dharm is non-violent."

Critical reception

Dharma was premiered 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.Soundtrack of Cannes Fest entry 'Dharm' launched
entertainment.oneindia, Thursday, 17 May 2007 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. The film was awarded the Swarovski Trophy for Best Film at the Asian Festival of First Films. At home, though it wasn't a box office success, it opened to excellent reviews from the critics and later the world rights of the film were acquired by Films Distribution, France. ''Dharm'' was embroiled in a controversy in India, where it became one of the finalists for India's official entry to the Oscars, a race it lost to '' Eklavya: The Royal Guard''.

Cast

* Pankaj Kapoor as Pandit Chaturvedi *

as Parvati * Hrishitaa Bhatt as Mani *

Pankaj Tripathi Pankaj Tripathi (né Tiwari; born 5 September 1976) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema and has also appeared in Telugu and Tamil language films. Tripathi has established himself as one of the notable actors of Hindi cinema. He is the ...

as Surya Prakash *

K. K. Raina K. K. Raina is an Indian film, television and theatre character actor and award-winning script writer, who is best known for his roles as ''Juror #8'' in the 1986 film ''Ek Ruka Hua Faisla'', a remake of 12 Angry Men, and Byomkesh Bakshi's asso ...

as Surya Prakash's father *

Daya Shankar Pandey Daya Shankar Pandey (born 19 November 1965) is an Indian film and television actor. He has acted in a number of Hindi movies like ''Lagaan'' (2001), ''Gangaajal'' (2003), ''Swades'' (2004) and ''Raajneeti'' (2010). He began his career with the ...

as Pandit at the Ganga River Banks

References

External links

*
Bhavna Talwar interview on her film Dharma
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dharm (Film) 2000s Hindi-language films 2007 films Films shot in Varanasi Films about Hinduism Films set in Uttar Pradesh Best Film on National Integration National Film Award winners