''Anahat'' (Unhurt) is a 2003

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

film directed by

Amol Palekar Amol Palekar (born 24 November 1944) is an Indian actor, director and producer of Hindi and Marathi cinema. Early life and education Palekar was born to Kamlakara and Suhasini Palekar in a Marathi language, Marathi speaking middle-class family ...

and starring

Anant Nag Anant Nagarkatte (born 4 September 1948) is an Indian actor whose predominant contribution has been in Kannada cinema. He has acted in over 300 films which include over 250 Kannada films and few films in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Malaya ...

Sonali Bendre Sonali Bendre Behl (born 1 January 1975), known professionally as Sonali Bendre, is an Indian actress predominantly known for her work in Hindi and Telugu films. Considered as one of the leading actresses of the 1990s and early 2000s, Bendre s ...

and

Deepti Naval Deepti Naval (born 3 February 1952) is an Indian-American actress, director, and writer, predominantly active in Hindi cinema. Her major contribution has been in the area of art cinema, winning critical acclaim for her sensitive and 'close to ...

. ''Anahat'' won the Best Artistic Direction award at the

World Film Festival of Bangkok The World Film Festival of Bangkok () is an annual international film festival held in Bangkok, Thailand. The 15th World Film Festival of Bangkok, the latest edition of World Film Festival of Bangkok, is held from December 2 to December 11, 2022. ...

, in 2003. ''Anahat'' was screened as the opening film of the 2003 Indian Panorama, an International film festival. It was also screened at

Jerusalem Film Festival The Jerusalem Film Festival (, ) is an international film festival held annually in Jerusalem, It was established in 1984 by the Director of the Jerusalem Cinematheque and Israeli Film Archive, Lia van Leer, Lia Van Leer, and has since become th ...

in 2011 along with five other movies.

Plot

''Anahat'' is set in the 10th century AD in

Shravasti Shravasti (, ; ) is a town in Shravasti district in Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was the capital of the ancient Indian kingdom of Kosala which was ruled by Lava and the place where the Buddha lived most after his enlightenment. It is n ...

, the capital of the Kingdom of Malla. It revolves around two individuals — the king of Malla (Anant Nag), who is unable to father an heir, and the Queen, Sheelavati (Sonali Bendre), who is forced to choose a potent mate for one night. But, while the queen is ordered to merely produce an heir through the prevalent custom of

Niyoga Niyoga () was a Hinduism, Hindu practice, primarily followed during the ancient period, in the Indian subcontinent. Niyoga permitted widows or wives, who had no child by their husband, to procreate with another man. The purpose of niyoga was to e ...

, she enjoys the sexual act without hurting her husband and comes to realize what her life is missing (in terms of sexual fulfillment).

Reception

Pankaj Upadhyaya of

Rediff Rediff.com, stylized as rediff.com, is an Indian news, information, entertainment, and shopping website. Founded by Ajit Balakrishnan in 1996, it was the first Indian website to become a mainstream news media organization. It is headquartered i ...

wrote that "In the final reckoning, it's a simple story simply told. The camera works efficiently. The actors, for the most part, have just been allowed to be themselves"

References

External links

* 2003 films 2000s Marathi-language films Indian films based on plays Films set in the 10th century Films set in Uttar Pradesh History of India on film Films directed by Amol Palekar Indian historical drama films 2000s historical drama films 2003 drama films {{historic-film-stub