Click to read the article
The Guru (2003)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:87
Fresh:50
Rotten:37
Average Rating:5.7/10
Consensus: A sweetly silly but wafer-thin romantic comedy.
Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis:
Only a guru could have predicted the fate awaiting Ramu Gupta (Jimi Mistry), a young Indian dance teacher with the best moves in Delhi. Mesmerized by a friend's promise of a New York penthouse and...
Only a guru could have predicted the fate awaiting Ramu Gupta (Jimi Mistry), a young Indian dance teacher with the best moves in Delhi. Mesmerized by a friend's promise of a New York penthouse and a red Mercedes, India's Tony Manero gives up the comforts of home to become a star in America. But the road to fame in New York is no magic carpet ride and Ramu winds up in a crowded Queens walk-up apartment, waiting tables at an Indian restaurant and scrambling for any audition that comes along.
Still, good fortune can arise from strange places as Ramu discovers when a catering gig at a ditzy socialite's (Marisa Tomei) birthday party catapults him into an extravagant version of the American dream. Mistaken for a spiritual healer, Ramu becomes an overnight celebrity with the city's elite hanging onto his every word - no matter how absurd. The trouble is, he's also falling in love with the one woman (Heather Graham) who knows the real source of his seemingly profound insights and Ramu must choose between his newfound notoriety and his love for a woman who accepts him as he is.
Bollywood meets Hollywood in The Guru, an exuberantly comic tale of culture clash from Universal Pictures and Working Title Films. The Guru stars Heather Graham (From Hell), Marisa Tomei (In the Bedroom), Jimi Mistry (East is East), Christine Baranski (Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas) and Michael McKean (Best in Show), as well as Dash Mihok (The Perfect Storm) and Malachy McCourt (Green Card).
Starring: Heather Graham, Marisa Tomei, Jimi Mistry, Christine Baranski
Starring: Heather Graham, Marisa Tomei, Jimi Mistry, Christine Baranski, Michael McKean, Malachy McCourt, Dash Mihok
Director: Daisy Von Scherler Mayer
Director: Daisy Von Scherler Mayer
Screenwriter: Tracey Jackson
Producer: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Michael London
Composer: David Carbonara
Studio: Universal Pictures
Reviews for The Guru
A core of feel-good humour within the rhythm of a con comedy, delivering crowd-pleasing warmth at the same time as some genuinely sharp laughs.
Stirs together Bollywood and Hollywood, satire and romance, to create an appealing masala dish of a movie.
It may have the melody, visage and basics of a Bollywood biggie, but truth be told, The Guru, despite it's zest and lure, gives the far-off genus a bad wrap.
Had “The Guru” beefed up its vacillating plot with more observable differences between the states and India, we might have had more of a film here
...a clunky, idiotic, laughless and amateurish collection of scenes targeted to people who have the intellect of mattress springs.
What are talented actresses like Marisa Tomei and Heather Graham doing in a wafer-thin fizzle like this?
This American version of a Bollywood musical is one of the worst films I have run across in the last few years.
More DVDs
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 86% 86% | A Christmas Tale |
| 60% 60% | Paper Heart |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Fresh Links
Featured

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.



Top Critic

