The standard response to people outraged by fake religious leaders is to tell them to look at spirituality itself, and not the hypocrites who peddle it. Vikram Gandhi decides to take that idea as far as he can: He remakes himself into a phony guru named Kumaré to show people that they don’t need gurus.
Armed with months of hair growth, a lot of loincloths and good knowledge of Hindu tradition, Gandhi succeeds. He moves to Phoenix, where he teaches chants such as “Be All That You Can Be” in Hindi and ridiculous yoga asanas that make people look like cats on the verge of heatstroke.
If this sounds like reality TV, it basically is. It is also an extremely mean trick. What redeems “Kumaré” and its director is that Gandhi knows that. He meets people dealing with authentic pain — stressful jobs, rocky marriages, simple loneliness — and finds his satire undermined by his desire to help them out and to prepare them for the shock that’s coming. The longer Gandhi plays at being Kumaré, the more warnings he issues: “I’m the biggest faker I know.” His followers smile, convinced he’s imparting wisdom.
The movie starts with Kumaré about to reveal himself, and turns on the question of whether his students will get the point, or tar and feather him. Gandhi is talented enough, and compassionate enough, that his tour of the human need to believe in something becomes not just mocking, but touching.