Kumaré

Comparisons with Sasha Baron Cohen's mockumentary characters (Ali G, Bruno, etc.) are apt for this playful, if also mildly discomfiting, first-person documentary by Vikram Gandhi, an assimilated Indian-American from New Jersey. Gandhi was bewildered by the fact that, even as he was outgrowing his Hindu religious heritage, Americans around him were embracing self-styled yogis, swamis, cult leaders, and “masters,” who generally recruited at yoga-exercise classes. Originally, Gandhi's game plan was to make a docu-exposé interviewing fake fakirs. But then he decided to take a more direct (and Morgan Spurlockian) approach and become a sham holy man himself. Gandhi let his hair grow, learned yoga poses, acted cheery, and spoke in semi-nonsensical pidgin-English homilies in the role of Kumaré, the new guru on the Southwest mysticism circuit. Pulling off the feat was frighteningly easy—but then it becomes a little disturbing to Gandhi (as well as the viewer), as Arizona disciples ask Kumaré for advice on ending marriages or getting sober. “There's nothing phony about him,” comments one pilgrim. Since Gandhi's plan is to ultimately confess his imposture, what will happen when he reveals the hoax? Gandhi surprises himself by finding that maybe he does impart a spiritual (or at least positive-thinking) value even with his impish spoof of a trendy messiah. The presentation is so slick, and the seekers and suckers so sincere, one can't help but wonder if this wasn't itself reality-TV scripted—a counterfeit about a counterfeit. But it is apparently real, as Gandhi has appeared on Nightline among other publicity venues to discuss it. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)