In a barren, arranged marriage to an amateur swami who seeks enlightenment through celibacy, Radha's life takes an irresistible turn when her beautiful young sister-in-law seeks to free herself from the confines of her own loveless marriage.
Directed by Deepa Mehta
coming out
infidelity
husband wife relationship
arranged marriage
hinduism
lesbian relationship
male homosexuality
india
lgbt
woman director
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Cast
Nandita Das
Sita
Shabana Azmi
Radha
Javed Jaffrey
Jatin
Kulbhushan Kharbanda
Ashok
Ranjit Chowdhry
Mundu
Ram Gopal Bajaj
Swamiji
Vinay Pathak
Guide at Taj Mahal
Dilip Mehta
Young Radha's father
Avijit Dutt
Julie's father
Laurence Côte
French tourist at the Taj Mahal
Crew
Deepa Mehta
Director
Deepa Mehta
Screenplay
A.R. Rahman
Original Music Composer
Giles Nuttgens
Director of Photography
Deepa Mehta
Producer
Aradhana Seth
Production Design
Deepa Mehta
Story
A.R. Rahman
Playback Singer
Popular Reviews
55 reviews
yanissa
6.0★ · 05/04/26
lesbians’ strongest desire is to run away
lesbians’ strongest desire is to run away
Gideon
7.0★ · 03/17/26
My mouth was agape when I saw him jorking it in front of grandma
My mouth was agape when I saw him jorking it in front of grandma
Maya
8.0★ · 02/08/26
Beautiful and even more amazing the 2nd time
Beautiful and even more amazing the 2nd time
natasha
7.0★ · 10/15/25
just extremely beautiful and heartfelt
just extremely beautiful and heartfelt
Ray
9.0★ · 08/29/25
Without desire there is no point in living. And you know what else? I desire to live.
Really beautiful film. I love the references to legends, I love the repeated motifs, I love Radha and Sita, I love the depiction of queerness. I wanted Radha and Sita to get a happy ending so badly and even though they technically got it, I'm not overcome with hope. Even though they managed to leave and gain freedom, this is still a tragedy. All the years Radha spent in an unhappy marriage, the treatment and violence against them from their husbands and family, and all of the women who didn't get to leave - that's the tragedy.
Without desire there is no point in living. And you know what else? I desire to live.
Really beautiful film. I love the references to legends, I love the repeated motifs, I love Radha and Sita, I love the depiction of queerness. I wanted Radha and Sita to get a happy ending so badly and even though they technically got it, I'm not overcome with hope. Even though they managed to leave and gain freedom, this is still a tragedy. All the years Radha spent in an unhappy marriage, the treatment and violence against them from their husbands and family, and all of the women who didn't get to leave - that's the tragedy.
