Maya, played by Indira Varma, consoles her childhood friend Tara, played by Sarita Choudhury. Friends since childhood, there is an undercurrent of rivalry between the two. For this transgression, she is banned from the kingdom. She learns the art of the courtesan from Rasa Devi, the priestess of sensuality who teaches the lessons of the Kamasutra. The sexual chess game continues with the addition of yet another player, Jai Singh the court sculptor.
Rules cease to exist as passion turns servants into masters, and rulers into pawns.
While Kama Sutra is definitely about sex, Nair says in her mind it was never just about the love-making but more about the 'the sensuality of the everyday life in this period, of the way these characters live and dress and move. At first glance, this opulent erotic love story may seem far removed from her earlier subjects, forgotten outsiders living on the margins of society. But Kama Sutra has strong, resilient female characters, and deals boldly with human sexuality, a subject Hindi movies pussyfoot about. I find it extraordinary that this is really the country which compiled the Kama Sutra and treatises on the physical and philosophical skills of making love. Maya, chief courtesan to the king steals a moment alone with her true love, sculptor Jai Kumar, played by Ramun Tikaram.