As New York City’s first Muslim mayor faces backlash rooted in fear and misinformation, this audio story looks beyond politics. It revisits Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love, a 1996 film directed by his mother, Mira Nair. The film subverts stereotypes of South Asian women as sexually passive or repressed, challenging those ideas through its characters.
Transcript:
Audio pulled from Gabe Poirot: And see, here’s the thing. Here’s what you don’t understand. They know their plan, but as believers, we need to be aware of the times in which we are living in.
Audio pulled from NPR: Were you prepared for this level of bigotry?
Audio pulled from Gabe Poirot: It’s time for you to wake up. You need to understand Zohran Mamdani has already prepared Sharia law for New York City.
Audio pulled from NPR: The thing that was very clear in the weeks before and the days after the primary was this barrage of racist, anti-Muslim attacks on you, uh, equating you to a terrorist, saying you’re a danger to the safety of Americans.
Zohran Mamdani: It’s unsurprising. And yet it’s still deeply sad.
Audio pulled from Sammy Obeid: When somebody says Zohran’s going to bring Sharia law to New York City, you should not be saying, no, okay.
When somebody says Zohran’s going to bring Sharia law to New York City, the proper response is, is Sharia law even that bad?
Caitlin: Hi, I’m Caitlin Wisby, one half of Disjoint, and this is a Disjoint production. On October 23rd, 2024, Zohran Mamdani announced his candidacy for mayor of New York City. Since then, he has faced a wave of accusations, many from right-wing critics, labeling him a terrorist, an anti-Semite, and warning that as a Muslim, he will usher in Sharia law.
On January 1st, 2026, Mamdani was sworn in as the 112th mayor of New York City, becoming the city’s first Muslim, South Asian, and African-born mayor, a historic win.
But that didn’t stop the fear. If anything, it grew.
On March 7th, chaos ensued at Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the mayor of New York City. Anti-Muslim protesters and counter-protesters gathered, and what began as a heated demonstration escalated. Multiple arrests were made, and authorities say two individuals attempted to detonate explosive devices in what is now being investigated as an ISIS-inspired plot.
The backlash Mamdani faces today echoes earlier moments in American politics, like the treatment of former President Barack Obama during the 2008 election, when false claims about his religion and identity spread widely. But these narratives don’t just exist in politics. They’re shaped by longstanding Western stereotypes about South Asian communities, particularly around religion, sexuality, and women’s autonomy.
But here’s something that’s often overlooked: Mamdani was raised by filmmaker Meera Nair, whose 1996 film Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love challenged many of these assumptions nearly 30 years ago. The film subverted ideas about South Asian women’s sexuality and autonomy, even earning a ban in India when it was released.
Now, as the film marked its 29th anniversary on February 26, revisiting it offers a way to rethink those narratives.
The movie takes viewers back more than 400 years to 16th-century India. It opens with scenes of the young protagonists, Maya and Tara, set against sweeping shots of palaces and lush gardens.
Shot on film, these opening moments are striking, capturing the texture and atmosphere of India centuries ago. Female characters wear colorful saris, lavish jewelry, and anklets that jingle with every step.
The Kama Sutra, the ancient text that inspires the film in its title, is introduced early as young Princess Tara, played by Garima Dhup, attends a lesson by Rasa Devi, portrayed by renowned Indian actress Rekha.
Rasa Devi Soundbite: So, Kama Sutra, the greatest book of love ever written, kama means love. And Sutra means?
Young Tara Soundbite: Lessons.
Rasa Devi Soundbite: Very good.
Caitlin: Puspa Ghalley, a fan of the film, says this character is her favorite.
Puspa: She was talking about pleasure, about sex, and which is, yeah, done behind the doors, but never really set in front. And it was so beautiful to see how it is an art form, you know? And she was teaching that to the girls. So I was like, wow, I like this character already.
Caitlin: Indo-Fijian Australian artist Natasha Karman, who says she first watched the film at a young age, agrees.
Natasha: I do consider it a feminist movie, not because of Maya or the princess or whatever, but because of Rekha’s character and the way that she was teaching and guiding these young girls. The way she talked about intimacy, the way she talked about everything, it was like, it’s this beautiful, beautiful gift that women have.
And she was teaching them to take that autonomy back.
Rasa Devi Soundbite: Why do we study it, you may all ask, when it was written so many hundreds of years ago. Because love remains as meaningful and mysterious today as it was then.
Caitlin: Though Tara and Maya appear close, there’s an undercurrent of resentment beneath their friendship.
Young Maya Soundbite: Why do I always have to wear Tara’s old clothes when she never wears mine?
Caitlin: As Tara’s servant, Maya is often subjected to her cruelty, driven by Tara’s jealousy for beauty and talent.
(Discussing Maya’s new clothes)
Maya: How is it?
Tara: Looks like leftovers. You can wear it at my wedding.
Caitlin: As the film moves forward, the characters transition into adulthood. Sarita Choudhury plays Tara, while Indira Varma makes her film debut as Maya. Finding new talent is something director Mira Nair has long taken pride in.
Audio pulled from The Juggernaut: My casting is from instinct. I am not afraid of casting real people because they have, they have a certain spirit.
Caitlin: When Tara is set to marry Prince Raj Singh, played by Naveen Andrews, Maya finally gives her a taste of her own medicine, using her sexuality to seduce the prince and set the movie into motion.
Maya Soundbite: All my life, I have lived with your used things; now, something I have used is yours forever.
Caitlin: Natasha, who goes by Tash, says the film is worth revisiting, especially for Indian audiences, as conservatism rises under the Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP for short.
Natasha: Current South Asian movies are all shit, and it’s all political, right-wing propaganda, and I’m just so done.
Caitlin: That’s what makes Kama Sutra, A Tale of Love, so relevant today. At a time when South Asian and Muslim communities are still being reduced to stereotypes, whether in politics or popular culture, Naira’s film offers a different perspective, one where women are not passive or silent, but complex, flawed, and in control of their own stories.
Natasha: I like to watch these older movies, these older, bolder movies, to see that, you know, there still were artists speaking up about this shit, and it sort of gives me hope that people are going to talk about it.
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