Eye_MD_B The takeway is awesome - not to fall for the many fake-Gurus out there, and I wish religious fanatics would see that they are just as naive - the difference only being that they were conditioned from childhood on.However - to lead on open-hearted people and then displaying them as fools to the whole world, in my eyes is immoral and the fact that he wasn't sued and no one did come forward to complain indicates that he deliberately planned to destroy a few people's reputations by having had them sign disclosure wavers beforehand.I feel sorry for the ones who put their heart into him and now will be laughed at for the rest of their lives.

Lucas Scudeller Brilliant in the simplicity and the true essence of the movie: We can find meaning in whatever we want to find meaning, in other words, we are the creators of our own personal and relative reality. Whatever we put our faith in, becomes truth. It doesn't matter if it is a fake guru or a true one. It doesn't matter. Period.In the end, what does a "true guru" really means? Maybe it means that it will sacrifice anything in the disciple's way to the true truth, even himself.The film unveils the truth about the illusions set out in the world about systems of thought carried out by all the religions and disciplines. The systems of thought are useful in every one of them as a pathway, not an end. This film hands out unpretentiously, like every truth is, a simple and true way of spotting the true gurus.

tcall-152-465863 I think that people who miss the point of this movie have missed out on learning a great truth. We can help ourselves. We are our own guru. I think that this is the only way we can be truly happy is if we choose to be. We can't ride on the coattails of someone else's happiness or truth. We have to find it inside. This is what Vikram was bringing out. The illusion is truth. During Vikram's path of discovery he learned that he is Kumare and Vikram. As Kumare he stated that he had never felt more connected to people than he did then. Why? He took the time to 1) show an interest in others 2) connect with empathy and compassion 3) engage in reflective listening & conversation 4) Serve others 5) Teach them how to be self empoweredHe positively affected change in the lives of many people he encountered. Could he have done that as Vikram? I think not. Sometimes we need the illusion to move into our truth. I think he would make a great life coach, as Vikram. :)

hkauteur American filmmaker Vikram Gandhi transforms himself into Sri Kumaré, an enlightened guru from a fictional village in India, by adopting a fake Indian accent and growing out his hair and beard. Kumaré travels to Arizona to spread his made-up philosophy and gain sincere followers.Kumaré documents a social experiment that was not well-planned and goes awry. Vikram Gandhi starts off by pretending to be a false prophet to make fun of religious people. But when he starts to gain sincere followers, he sees that these people have real-life problems and need hope and guidance, he starts to feel guilty. What was he expecting would happen?The first half of the film is funny and disturbing in the way that it fulfills the entirety of Gandhi's thesis. We laugh at these followers because we have a social distance from it. For the latter half of the film, it becomes uncomfortable as his followers start to become close with Sri Kumaré, telling him intimate details of their personal lives and asking him for advice. He fights with himself over how he should tell them. This is where the documentary lost me. I did not care one bit for Vikram. I was cringing for his followers and kept watching to see their reaction when the curtain was pulled before them. So in the end, do the ends justify the means? I personally do not think so. Other people may see it differently. To me, Vikram Gandhi becomes the person he set out to mock. The film celebrates its own mean-spiritedness at the end and it just left a bad taste in my mouth. I am not one to make fun of other people's faith.If there is anything positive to come out of Gandhi's experiment, it's that everybody has the potential to find peace within themselves, whether that's religion, yoga, golf, knitting or gardening. People should believe in something that they can find happiness in, even if it's not God.But I already knew that before watching this film.For more reviews, please view my film blog @ http://hkauteur.wordpress.com/