Trailers of Mike Myers’ comedy suggest the film lampoons Hinduism

NEW YORK: Hollywood’s reigning gagmeister Mike Myers latest comedy, The Love Guru, is set to be released on June 20 but some Hindus in the US are not amused, especially after watching the film’s trailers. They feel that the movie lampoons Hinduism.

The comedy has big Hollywood names in the cast, including Myers, Ben Kingsley, Jessica Alba, Bombay Dreams hero Manu Narayan and Justin Timberlake. Myers told Rotten Tomatoes, a website devoted to movie review, news and information, that he did tonnes of “read-throughs” and scripted the big laughs by having “secret shows” of The Love Guru in small New York theatres before polishing up the final screenplay.
 
Rajan Zed, a well-known Hindu leader who delivered the first Hindu opening prayer in the US Senate in Washington, told DNA that he had asked Paramount Pictures to arrange a screening of The Love Guru for Hindu leaders so that they could vet the film before it was released.

“I was deeply concerned after watching the trailer. It appears to be lampooning Hinduism. Hindu terms are also used frivolously. It perpetuates stereotypes of Hindus,” Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, said.
Zed, who also teaches Hinduism in a US college, pointed out that Hollywood actor-producer Mel Gibson screened The Passion of Christ before releasing the film in theatres. He suggested Myers should also get a green-light from Hindu leaders instead of offending film-goers.  

“I do have an email response from Paramount,” said Zed. “But we have to wait and watch.” Paramount, however, declined comment when contacted by DNA.

Myers is trying to create the magic of Austin Powers through his new film. The plot is goofy: Meyers plays Pitka, an American abandoned at the gates of an ashram in India as a child. After being raised by gurus, he moves back to the US (with his elephant) to seek fame and fortune in the world of self-help.

Pitka’s unorthodox methods are tested when he gets involved in resolving a rift between a professional hockey player (Romany Malco) and his estranged wife, who starts an affair with a rival hockey player (Justin Timberlake) out of spite. This sends Malco’s character into a professional slump and throes of jealousy - to the horror of the team’s owner Jane Bullard (Jessica Alba) and Coach Cherkov (Verne Troyer). Pitka is tasked with returning the couple to marital nirvana and getting Roanoke back on his game so the team can break the 40-year-old ‘Bullard Curse’ and win the Stanley Cup.