Synopsis

Set in 16th-century India, the film follows Maya, a servant raised alongside the aristocratic Tara. Their lifelong friendship becomes a bitter rivalry after Maya attracts Tara's future husband. Cast out, Maya studies the arts of love under an experienced courtesan and enters the royal court, where desire, class, political corruption, and revenge lead both women toward painful self-discovery.

Factoids & Trivia

• The production used the working title "Tara and Maya" while filming in India, helping conceal the film's actual subject matter from authorities.

• The film was shot in India, including locations near Khajuraho, whose famous temple sculptures provide an important cultural context for its treatment of erotic art.

• It was an international co-production involving companies from India, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and the United States.

• The film runs approximately 114 minutes and uses both English and Hindi.

• India's Central Board of Film Certification initially rejected the film. It was later released there with an adult certificate and cuts to nudity and sexual material.

• The production design, costumes, music, and cinematography were central to the film's deliberately theatrical interpretation of royal India.

• The film premiered in 1996 and was later released theatrically in the United States on February 28, 1997.