Dharm (2007)

The movie is about a Hindu priest Pandit Chaturvedi (Pankaj Kapur) who is one of the most highly respected priests in the entire city of Varanasi. A man who lives for his religion, soaked ... See full summary »

Director:

Bhavna Talwar

Writers:

Varun Gautam (dialogue), Vibha Singh (screenplay)

Stars:

Pankaj Kapur, Supriya Pathak, Pankaj Tripathy

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Pankaj Kapur	...	Pandit Chaturvedi
Supriya Pathak	...	Parvati Chaturvedi
Pankaj Tripathy	...	Suryaprakash
Daya Shankar Pandey	...	Dayashankar Pandey
Hrishitaa Bhatt	...	Mani
Anany Tripathi	...	Vedika
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Suruchi Aulakh	...	Muslim mother
Krish Parekh	...	Kartikey / Mustafa
K.K. Raina

Storyline

The movie is about a Hindu priest Pandit Chaturvedi (Pankaj Kapur) who is one of the most highly respected priests in the entire city of Varanasi. A man who lives for his religion, soaked in years of ancient traditions, values and morals. He is a strict, yet lovable man. As any real priest would, Chaturvedi believes he is a disciple of God on this earth to spread God's message and love as he goes about his rigidly ritualistic world of pooja's and teachings. One day his daughter brings home an infant (Krish Parekh) and the mother of the infant has disappeared and cannot be found nowhere. Pandit Chaturvedi is hesitant to have the child around the house at first, and when it's confirmed that the child has been abandoned, he then makes the decision that the child will be raised in the local orphanage. However the Pandit's wife Parvati (Supriya Pathak Kapur) has by now developed a soft spot for the young child and requests her husband if they can keep and raise the child if as their own. ...

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Plot Keywords:

penance | violence | adoption | muslim | salvation | 

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

8 June 2007 (India)

Company Credits

Production Co:

WSG Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Humanity is Religion indeed

I just finished watching this movie today and was impressed by the message it conveyed (ie, humanity is religion), the performances, the direction, the lighting and the cinematography, yet, IMO it could have been a little better as it somewhat disappoints (only a little). What I found disappointing was the ending. It just seemed too abrupt and sudden (which sort of made it unrealistic).

Talwar's direction is impressive and she put a lot of heart into making a movie based on a somewhat complex issue. There have been movies made on similar subjects but she shows her point of view and takes us into the mind of Pandit Chaturvedi, an extremely devoted Brahmin priest. We see his dedication, experience his conflict and feel his emotions. The character's been excellently played by Pankaj Kapur. His subtleness and silence conviction is powerful and his dialogue delivery, especially in the end, is amazing. Supriya Pathak plays Chaturvedi's wife with clear ease while Hrishitaa Bhatt leaves a mark in a smaller role. The rest of the cast is adequate while the 'villains' were very caricaturish. The background score deserves mention as it adds a voice to the going ons.

Bhavna Talwar deserves full marks for doing such a fine job. Even though I think the ending could have been a little better developed, I think Ms Talwar wanted to make it more concise. It would have been interesting too to also dig into the 'villains' psyche. They were so fundamentally opposed to other religions. Anyway, while one may argue that 'Dharm' is a spiritual movie, I think it has very universal message. This is a film that everyone must see, especially in today's time.