'The Love Guru' set to release amid Hindu controversy

$62-million Paramount Pictures movie "Love Guru" by Mike Myers is set to release June 20 amid a controversy over its 'lampooning Hinduism'. According to reports, comedy 'The Love Guru' has been inspired by the best-selling author and spiritual teacher Deepak Chopra, who also makes a cameo appearance in the film. But a self-proclaimed Hindu activist Rajan Zed is determined not to let it go without a fuss. Deepak Chopra termed Zed's campaign "a cry for importance". "It's a sign that your faith has become a cover up for all your insecurities because you can't even take a joke," Chopra said.

Mike Myers and Jessica Alba in 'The Love Guru' 2008'His Karma is huge,' says the poster of 'The Love Guru'. Mike Myers, the writer-actor-producer of 'The Love Guru' is known for his funny portrayal of Austin Powers. Undoubtedly, he is irreverent. 'The Love Guru' features Mike Myers, Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake, Romany Malco, Meagan Good, Omid Djalili and Ben Kingsley who's known to millions of Indians for his memorable role as Mahtama Gandhi in Richard Attenborough's award-winning 'Gandhi'.

SYNOPSIS:

In the comedy "The Love Guru," Pitka (Mike Myers in his first original character since Austin Powers) is an American who was left at the gates of an Ashram in India as a child and raised by Hindu gurus. He moves back to the U.S. to seek fame and fortune in the world of self-help and spirituality. His unorthodox methods are put to the test when he must settle a rift between Toronto Maple Leafs star hockey player Darren Roanoke (Romany Malco) and his estranged wife. After the split, Roanoke's wife starts dating L.A. Kings star Jacques Grande (Justin Timberlake) out of revenge, sending her husband into a major professional skid - to the horror of the teams' owner Jane Bullard (Jessica Alba) and Coach Cherkov (Verne Troyer). Pitka must return the couple to marital nirvana and get Roanoke back on his game so the team can break the 40-year-old "Bullard Curse" and win the Stanley Cup.

Deepak Chopra attacks Hindu fundamentalists

US-based Hindu activist Rajan Zed, who sends dozens of press releases to media people and calls himself 'acclaimed' Hindu leader in his emails, alleges the film 'The Love Guru' "appears to be lampooning Hinduism and Hindus and using Hindu terms frivolously."

The best-selling author Deepak Chopra hits back. He defends 'The Love Guru,' in which Myers plays an aspiring self-help guru who aims to achieve Chopra's level of popularity. Chopra posted an essay online. "The premature outcry against the movie is itself religious propaganda," Chopra writes, citing that the protesters based their views on the film's 2 1/2-minute trailer. "As viewers will find out when the movie is released this summer, no one is more thoroughly skewered in it than I am — you could even say that I am made to seem preposterous."

Chopra and Myers have been friends for 15 years. Myers wrote the foreword to Chopra's latest book, Why is God Laughing? — which explores the relationship between comedy and spirituality. During a period of depression, Myers discovered Chopra's books and videos and began imitating his accent, Chopra said. Myers tried out his new character in New York comedy clubs and began to write the film.

On the other hand, the self-described Hindu leader Rajan Zed has successfully managed to disseminate his email protest to various newspapers in India, grabbing headlines in leading papers such as 'The Hindu', 'The Times of India' and 'The Hindustan Times'. Zed has requested the India's Central Board of Film Certification and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to ban the screenings of the Mike Myers comedy in India.

The Love Guru (2008)

Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment Present
A Nomoneyfun Films/Michael De Luca Production
"The Love Guru"
Executive Producers Gary Barber Roger Birnbaum Donald J. Lee, Jr.
Produced by Michael De Luca Mike Myers
Written by Mike Myers & Graham Gordy
Directed by Marco Schnabel