Dharm

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Drama

A holy man whose beliefs are rooted in intolerance is forced to reexamine his views in this drama from India. Pandit Narayan Chaturvedi (Pankaj Kapur) is a devout and deeply respected Brahmin priest who believes in the value of the caste system and has no use for those who don't share his Hindu faith.

Chaturvedi frequently debates matters of Hindu doctrine with others, and has a frequent opponent in Surya Prakash (Pankaj Tripathi), a young firebrand with ideas of his own.

One day, Chaturvedi's daughter brings home Kartikayn (Krish Parekh), a young boy who has lost his mother and has nowhere to go; at first the Pandit keeps the child at arms length, but he soon develops a paternal bond with Kartikayn and comes to think of him as his own son.

Chaturvedi is forced to defend his beliefs among those around him when Prakash's sister Mani (Hrishita Bhatt) impulsively marries a visitor from America (Joel Lee) and Chaturvedi must turn his back on her.

However, a much bigger challenge to his code comes when Kartikayn's long lost mother is found, and he discovers the boy he's embraced as his own comes from a Muslim family. Dharm received its American premiere at the 2008 Palm Springs Film Festival.