Mike Myers and Jessica Alba in The Love Guru
A couple of months ago on theguardian.com/film we covered a story about the ongoing resentment among Hindu leaders over The Love Guru, the new feature from Mike Myers, he of Wayne's World, Austin Powers and - latterly - Shrek. Myers' depiction of a horny American, raised on the subcontinent by gurus, who returns to his country as a self-help expert attracted no small amount of ire from Hindu leader Rajan Zed, who called for the film to be edited before its US release.
Now Deepak Chopra, who collaborated with Myers on the film and is apparently the inspiration for Pitka, the character he plays, has hit back at the film's critics, claiming that their opposition suggests they are insecure about their spiritual beliefs and that they need to get a sense of humour.
Myers and co also say that those who criticise have not seen the full film, only the trailer. Well, I have to admit that I'm in the same spot myself, but the whole thing still looks pretty preposterous. Pitka would appear to be little more than Austin Powers in a dhoti. The whole thing whiffs awfully of Bakshi, the hapless Indian actor played by Peter Sellers in the highly dubious 1968 film The Party. Perhaps we should be thankful that Myers hasn't blacked up.
