The Guru , directed by Daisy Von Scherler Mayer, is a satirical interpretation of the Western world’s intrigue and obsession with the Indian spiritualism.
The movie stars Jimmy Mistry in the title role, with Heather Graham and Marissa Tomei playing the female interests.
The story:
The Guru is a story about a middle class Indian boy in America who is forced by circumstances to become a Sex Guru. Ramu Gupta (Jimmy) is a dance teacher who lands up in the US hoping to make it big in Hollywood, enticed by his friend who kept writing to him about his easy accumulation of wealth in the US.
As any reasonably smart moviegoer would already know, Ramu soon realizes that the ’’Red Merc’’ and the ’’snazzy Penthouse’’ that his friend ’’possesses’’ are actually a shabby cab and a dirty apartment. Ramu takes up a job as a waiter in a shady Restaurant, only to be thrown out for reacting to a racist comment made by a pigheaded American. Not losing hope or focus, our man shows up at an audition for a movie, and cant believe his luck when he gets selected for the role, only to realize he has been selected for a porn movie. His costar in the porn flick is Sharonna, played by the voluptuous Heather Graham (Remember Felicity Shagwell in Austin Powers- The Spy who shagged me?). Ramu, however, is unable to get himself ’’up’’ to ’’perform’’ in the movie, with 20 odd people watching him. And obviously, he gets sacked from the movie. You cant be a performer if you cant perform....right?Before being thrown out, Ramu has an enlightening discussion with Sharonna about the art of Sex.
Enter Lexi (Marissa Tomei), the confused, eccentric daughter of a rich couple. Lexi’s mom throws her daughter a birthday party at our shady restaurant, and also arranges for an indian Guru to humor Lexi’s spiritual tendencies. As fate would have it, the guru drinks himself to unconsciousness, and Ramu , who lands up there, is thrown in as the substitute Guru. Ramu, confused as he always is, does a retake on Sharonna’s theory of the art of Sex, and woos the elite audience with his seemingly divine aura of sexual enlightenment.
Ramu, or The Guru as he is now called, grows in stature and fame, rendering sermons and entertaining private audiences. With fame comes money, and our Guru now drives a Red Merc, and lives a life of luxury. Lexi is his loyal follower and like all loyal followers are expected to do, she gives herself to her Guru, body and soul, if you know what I mean.
Now our Guru is not really the enlightened soul that his public loves him for. And he needs to recharge his batteries (read as ’’enhance his knowledge about the art of Sex’’). So he strikes a deal with his porn star teacher Sharonna. Sharonna, who is actually a simple, nice girl who believes in love and marriage, but is working as a porn star only because of the money, is in love with and engaged to a nice young man, and is all set to tie the knot. But since nice young men wouldnt marry porn stars, she hasnt revealed her true profession to her fiance. Ramu agrees to buy her an expensive cake for her wedding, and in return, she would teach him the facts about sex. The Guru and his guru are shown to spend a lot of time together as a part of this deal, and the inevitable but uncomfortable attraction is only too obvious.
Cut to the climax. Sharonna finds out that Ramu has been using her teachings to cheat people in his Guru garb, and Ramu realizes his love for Sharonna, and in the ensuing drama, he announces on National television that he is a fake and rushes to the Church where Sharonna and her fiance are about to tie the knot. In true Bollywood fashion, he professes his love for her in front of all, and she reciprocates, and its a happy ending. Some not so important details...the erstwhile fiance turns out to be gay, and Lexi takes over as the new Guru.
Performances:
Jimy Mistry is good in his role. But his British accent makes it very tough to pass him off for a middle class Indian bred Desi. His gang of drooling desi friends kinda get on the nerve at times, but are mostly alright. Heather Graham is very subtle even though she plays a porn star. Nothing sleazy abt her in this movie. Marissa Tomei is funny in her idiot role, although she looks nowhere as cute as Mona Lisa Vito in ’’My Cousin Vinny’’.
Summary:
A good movie for casual viewing. Keeps you entertained for a good hour and half. No repeat value due to the slap stick comedy. It wasnt meant to be a cross over movie, and it falls short of being a mainstream Hollywood movie. The director seems confused about her target audience. In short, worth a watch if you can lay your hands on a DVD.