Kumaré (2012) *****

KumareProvocative, insightful, funny and touching, Kumaré is anything but a Borat wanna-be. Documentary filmmaker Vikram Gandhi reaches deeper than he originally intended, when setting up to explore the guru-disciple relationship with respect to religion. What begins as a joke ends up being an unexpected journey that is both challenging and rewarding to the filmmaker-guru, his blinded followers and the audience. Is all a guru can provide (and any religious leader for that matter) just a placebo effect or is there, unbeknown to Vikram, something more to himself than he realizes? Is religion an external or completely internal phenomena? For those who want to dig deeper, this film provides insights. Others may write it off as a docu-comedy and miss an opportunity to look at the mirror Vikram’s Kumaré presents. I highly recommend.