The Guru

R

Released Jan 31, 2003

1 hr. 31 min.

Romance

Comedy

List

57%

89 Reviews

Tomatometer

40%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

A young Indian dance teacher named Ramu Gupta (Jimi Mistry) embarks for New York City in pursuit of fame and fortune, only to find himself working as a waiter in an Indian restaurant. Through an encounter with Sharonna (Heather Graham), a beautiful adult-film star, the shy, inexperienced Ramu is mistaken for a spiritual leader - the Guru of Sex - and becomes an overnight celebrity. Fame comes at a price, however, and Ramu must choose between his newfound fame and his love for Sharonna.

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Critics Consensus

A sweetly silly but wafer-thin romantic comedy.

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steve d

So much talent and yet so embarrassing.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

kevin c

This is for me a guilty pleasure. Jimi Mistry plays a man who leaves his home country of India to live the American dream and be famous. A series of circumstances sees him go from a porn actor to becoming a sought after sex guru after taking life lessons from his costar Heather Graham. Quite hilarious and a sweet romantic comedy at its heart. Graham is delightful and sexy. Also stars one of my favourites Marisa Tomei. Definitely a hidden gem.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Good mixture of American comedy with Bollywood dance numbers thrown in. Some of the humor works some does not.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/04/19

Full Review

Audience Member

Not a good film at all. The so-called "funny" bits are so lame that they are unable to elicit a feeble chuckle, much less a full-blown laugh. And, although the drama is more laughable than the comedy, it's too half-baked and cringe-worthy to keep the average viewer from racing for the box office to demand a refund. The acting is almost as bad as the screenwriting and direction. Jimi Mystry hits all the wrong notes and although there are times when he's okay, but those are usually in scenes where he plays opposite the terminally untalented Heather Graham, who is inept doing comedy and unwatchable attempting drama.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Puntaje Original: 6.0 Divertidìsima.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This one failed the rewatch test. I remember thinking it was quite good when it was first out many, many years ago. Geez. What was I thinking!

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

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Daisy von Scherler Mayer

Director

Heather Graham

Sharonna

Marisa Tomei

Lexi

Jimi Mistry

Ramu Gupta

Michael McKean

Dwain

Christine Baranski

Chantal

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Empire Magazine

Rated: 4/5

Dec 30, 2006

Full Review

Marc Savlov

Austin Chronicle

There's not a whole lot of heft to von Scherler Mayer's romantic comedy with ethnic Indian entanglements; it's like overdone naan, too flaky and ephemeral for its own good, but still somehow appetizing.

Rated: 2/5

Mar 10, 2003

Full Review

James Berardinelli

ReelViews

Devoid of life, intelligence, humor, and anything else that could entertain even the most undemanding viewer, this film is a perfect example of something that should have been shipped to landfills, not multiplexes.

Rated: 1/4

Feb 16, 2003

Full Review

Felicia Feaster

Creative Loafing

It's the kind of half-cocked story only a Hollywood executive living in the midst of pretense, piety and crackpot fads could love.

Jan 29, 2020

Full Review

Betsy Bozdech

DVDJournal.com

Has the kind of edge and creativity (not to mention nudity) that mainstream 'rom-coms' almost uniformly lack.

Rated: 2/4

Nov 6, 2006

Full Review

Film Threat

Rated: 2.5/5

Dec 6, 2005

Full Review

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Synopsis

A young Indian dance teacher named Ramu Gupta (Jimi Mistry) embarks for New York City in pursuit of fame and fortune, only to find himself working as a waiter in an Indian restaurant. Through an encounter with Sharonna (Heather Graham), a beautiful adult-film star, the shy, inexperienced Ramu is mistaken for a spiritual leader - the Guru of Sex - and becomes an overnight celebrity. Fame comes at a price, however, and Ramu must choose between his newfound fame and his love for Sharonna.

Director: Daisy von Scherler Mayer
Executive Producer: Shekhar Kapur, Liza Chasin, Debra Hayward
Screenwriter: Tracey Jackson
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Working Title Films, StudioCanal
Rating: R (Strong Sexual Content|Language)
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 31, 2003, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $3.0M
Sound Mix: Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, SDDS, DTS-ES, Dolby A, Surround, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)