THE
GURU
Love
Conquers All, Spiritualism
Stands on Its Head
The Guru is a purely
Hollywood venture
on the Indian dilemma
in the 'land of
dreams'. The producers,
cast and the crew
are all Americans
with a sprinkling
of resident Indians.
The film is directed
by Daisy Von Scherler,
grand-daughter of
well-known Hollywood
screen writer Edwin
Justus Mayer. Daisy's
own parents were
actress Sasha and
Paul Avila Mayer,
a writer of films.
Starring in the
film are Heather
Graham, Marisa Tomel,
Jimi Mistry and
others. Jimi plays
the lead role of
Ramu Gupta, Ajay
Naidu is the other
Indian. Shekhar
Kapur is one of
the executive producers.
Writer Tracey Jackson,
originally a theatre
actress, has now
switched to writing
for films and television.
"A self-proclaimed
Indophile, Tracey
collaborated with
Shekhar Kapur to
develop his idea
about an Indian
immigrant in search
of the American
dream who winds
up as a sex guru.
After this debut
with an Indian theme,
she has completed
another screen play,
'Ashes to Ashes',
set in India with
Goldie Hawn in the
lead role.
She is on to a third
India story, a romantic
comedy. But the
best in her bag
probably is a project
in collaboration
with Aamir Khan.
The central idea
of Guru is pitting
love against "this
whole notion today
of spiritualism
on one's own terms"
The
director says this
film deals with
how much of Indian
culture gets imported
throughout the world
and this whole distorted
reality that evolves
from that. What's
nice about this
film is the message
of tolerance that
plays out particularly
at this time. Yes,
it evolves around
romance and it is
a raucous sex comedy,
but the underlying
theme is love conquers
all and to accept
everybody for who
and what they are.
The film is as much
about Indians trapped
in a self-made illusion
in a faraway land
of plenty as about
Americans in search
of spirituality
which they believe
flows from a mystical
India. This is what
Ramu does inadvertently
capitalising on
the American public's
appetite for a guru.
In the pursuit of
fame and material
happiness, Ramu
lands into gurudom,
getting the rewards
all the same, though
he could not become
a celebrity actor,
but only a small-time
performer in blue
films.
It all happens in
New York where this
young Indian dance
instructor reaches,
following his dreams
of fame. He winds
up as a waiter for
a living, but keeps
trying to be accepted
as an actor and
goes to auditions
to try his luck.
But when he gets
a chance to work
in an adult film,
he sweats. Guru's
role came to him
at a party, there
he also meets Lexi,
an unhappy girl
in search of a guru.
The story of Ramu's
life shuttling between
the two girls, the
other is the heroine
of the blue (adult)
film she was doing,
gets a very humorous
treatment at the
hands of Daisy Von
Scherler.
-by
Our Film Critic
November 22, 2002
