In the recently released documentary “Kumar\u00c3\u00a9,” filmmaker Vikram Gandhi, who grew up in a Hindu family in New Jersey and graduated from Columbia University, sets out to skewer the ersatz yogic and Eastern philosophies that have been embraced by New Age enthusiasts in America.<\/p>\n
Taking a leaf from Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Borat,” Mr. Gandhi adopts the persona of a guru named Kumar\u00c3\u00a9, or divine child. Complete with beard, flowing robes and a pitch-perfect imitation of his grandmother’s Indian lilt, Mr. Gandhi\/Kumar\u00c3\u00a9 heads for southern Arizona, where his spiritual-sounding bromides (“illusion is truth”) attract a circle of 15 devotees, who see him as an authentic spiritual guide.<\/p>\n
Anyone who has ever rolled his eyes at strip-mall yoga centers, Beverly Hills ashrams or commercial perfumes with names like Atman (Sanskrit for “true self”) will appreciate the film’s sendup of New Age movements and transplanted Eastern spirituality.<\/p>\n