The Guru (2002)

Bored with Bollywood movies but fascinated with their Hollywood counterparts from his youth, Ram dreams to become a singer and actor in America, the country where dreams are made. He is ... See full summary »

Director:

Daisy von Scherler Mayer

Writer:

Tracey Jackson

Stars:

Jimi Mistry, Heather Graham, Marisa Tomei

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jimi Mistry	...	Ramu Gupta
Heather Graham	...	Sharonna
Marisa Tomei	...	Lexi
Michael McKean	...	Dwain
Dash Mihok	...	Rusty McGee
Emil Marwa	...	Vijay Rao
Christine Baranski	...	Chantal
Ronald Guttman	...	Edwin, Lexi's Dad
Malachy McCourt	...	Father Flannigan
Ajay Naidu	...	Sanjay
Anita Gillette	...	Mrs. McGee
Pat McNamara	...	Mr. McGee
Dwight Ewell	...	Peaches
Parul Shah	...	Indian Princess in Movie
Omar Rahim	...	Indian Prince in Movie

Storyline

Bored with Bollywood movies but fascinated with their Hollywood counterparts from his youth, Ram dreams to become a singer and actor in America, the country where dreams are made. He is encouraged when his American-based close friend, Vijay Rao, comes for visit, and brags about driving a Mercedes and living in a penthouse. The Guptas do their best to talk Ramu out of going to America, but in vain. Ram does travel to America and upon arrival in New York is received by Vijay. This is where Ram will get a shock when he finds out that Vijay works as a waiter in an Indian Restaurant, drives a taxi-cab for a living, has never owned any car, and lives in a small apartment based in a Cinema Theater that hosts Bollywood movies, and his two room-mates are Sanjeev and Amit, one of them an illegal immigrant. Ram gets a job as a waiter in the same restaurant as Vijay, but is fired when he gets into a physical argument with a customer. Thereafter Ram applies for an acting job, only to find out that...

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Plot Keywords:

restaurant | waiter | bollywood | actor | guru | 

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Taglines:

A comedy about finding the American dream in the most unexpected way.

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Music | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content including dialogue, and for language

Details

Country:

UK France USA

Language:

English Hindi

Release Date:

14 February 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Guru of Sex

Filming Locations:

Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$47,289 (Italy) (25 July 2003)

Gross:

$321,814 (Spain) (25 July 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, StudioCanal, Working Title Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the early stages of writing the script, the writer wanted the character of Kitty to be Martha Stewart or Madonna. They would have played themselves had one of them been cast.

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Goofs

When Sharonna is teaching Ramu about moving one's body to music, Ramu's pendant jumps in and out of his shirt between shots.

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Quotes

Lexi: Mother, when you realize that not all people of color were put here to serve you?
Chantal: Lexi, darling, how can say that? I've served food to the homeless. Good food. Food I'd eat myself if I still ate carbs.

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Connections

Spoofs Grease (1978)

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Soundtracks

"Macarena"
Written by Antonio Romero (as Antonio Romero Monje) and Rafael Ruiz (as Perdigones Rafael Ruiz)
Performed by Los del Río
Courtesy of RCA Records/BMG UK & Ireland Ltd.

User Reviews

Bollywood in Hollywood

In India, the dance teacher Ramu Gupta (Jimi Mistry) decides to move to New York to become a famous actor. He believes in the American Dream and wants the follow the example of his friend Vijay (Emil Marwa), who moved to USA and in accordance with his letters, has a Mercedez Benz and lives in a wonderful penthouse. When Ramu arrives in New York, he realizes that Vijay indeed is a complete loser, working as a cab driver and waiter in an Indian restaurant, and sharing a simple apartment with two other friends, one of them illegal. While looking for a job as an actor, the naive Ramu ends in a porn movie, and he meets the porn star Sharonna (Heather Graham), who teaches him some secrets to have a good performance in front of the camera and the shooting crew. Later, in the birthday party of Lexi (Marisa Tomei) in the wealthy house of her parents, he pretends to be a guru, and becomes very successful as the Guru of Sex, using the advice of Sharonna. This silly and delightful story is a great homage to Bollywood and a very good entertainment. Like in the Indian movies of Bollywood, there are lots of songs and numbers of dances, and the cast is very nice and enjoyable. Heather Graham and Marisa Tomei are beautiful as usual, and there are many funny scenes. It is impossible not liking such a sweet romantic comedy. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Guru do Sexo" ("The Guru of the Sex")