Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Kumaré is a fascinating exploration of religious culture and the New age movement that has been ever growing as a form of bringing Eastern forms of thought and philosophy to a Western audience. As someone who has had first hand experience in this world of rituals, chants and self improvement I was deeply fascinated by both the premise and the twists and turns of the film. Kumaré takes a deep dive into the world of spiritual gurus as an everyman, film director Vikram Gandhi decides to experience first hand what it means to be a spiritual guru and whether this whole New-age deal is complete nonsense of is there in fact something deeper that people can dwell into. it's a very very interesting look into this idea of the New age and the modern man's need for self fulfilment purpose and the existential fulfilment that these modern gurus are able to fulfill. Personally my experience with the film drew many parallels with many so called 'gurus' that I have personally had experiences with, while never fully convinced of these 'holy men' and 'advanced being' or whatever they choose to call themselves I always had the personal agenda that aligned very much with Vikram's visions in that we ourselves have the innate ability to distinguish right from wrong and to self improve. The most interesting parts of the documentary reflect this belief and how this agenda of Vikram eventually divulges into a belief system of his own. Just going to show that while the idea of a spiritual guru or spiritual leader may be simply phathomed out of thin air the sense of belief that people are able to mirror and reflect onto the figure or themselves is undisputedly real and genuine. Kumaré takes audiences on a fascinating exploration of this idea and director Vikram's eventual conclusion of this genuine relationship and bond that actually came out of an idea that had no authentic basis. I wonderfully emotional and suspenseful documentary for anyone who has any interest in the subject matter.

Upon finishing the movie I was outraged that a man could reveal himself to people who open their hearts to him. After thinking about it longer, it wasn't him I was mad at, it's the religious leaders I have dealt with my whole life who remain a lie.I was raised Mormon and resigned. Since then it has been a journey of finding my happiness and believing it was in another person, religion, entity but my heart felt empty upon searching for a new path. I have been quick to learn my happiness is within myself but I've seen many along the way who are stuck.This movie brought out so many emotions and helped give greater understanding to why individuals follow a religion. I used to believe it was brainwashing and I held anger against all religions, but with this movie I have come to better realization it's a sense of belonging, acceptance, and a hearing ear. Religious leaders often twist those needs and bring an idea they are the true ones and people need them. This movie does an excellent job of showing we don't need religious leaders but we do need more kind individuals out there to help each other grow. Most importantly the movie shows how essential it is to progress for ourselves. We the individual are our true inspirations.

The definition of a guru being 'darkness into light' i.e. realisation of a truth should have given Vikram some pause for thought. His quest to spread a message that he believes to be true made him real guru, not a false one. The fact that he decided to be a guru seems to be his rationale behind being false, which makes no sense. The only way he would have been a false guru is if he had intentionally misled people, which he didn't. Indeed he connected better with people as Kumare than as Vikram.The entire premise defeats his own message. The fact that these people needed someone to tell them that they should be their own guru requires a guru for the message to be delivered. It is the same message as Buddhism, Sikhism and probably other eastern traditions. The only thing he demonstrated was the difference between a real guru and a false one. Ironically he was one of the real ones with a true message, once again, defeating his own aim. Something he didn't seem to realise at any point.

Vikram Gandhi, raised in New Jersey of Asian Indian parents, became suspicious of gurus and, in order to convince himself (and others) of their suspect credibility, he set out to show that he could fake it. And fake it he did, ultimately establishing a small group of followers in Phoenix, Arizona.It is not clear just what Gandhi has proved by his experiment. He proved that *he* could pass himself off as an Indian guru, but he had all of the ingredients: his pretend accent (easily come by); his carefully fabricated appearance; his proficiency in yoga to the point where he could conduct classes; his emphasis on meditation; and a message that was generic enough that most anyone could find a way to respond to it, namely that each of us has an inner guru that represents our best and truest self. I was conflicted in how I felt about what Gandhi did. The only thing that I can see where he flat lied was in his claiming to be from a small village in India. I do have a problem with Gahndi's grand plan to make this into a movie from the start, giving some credence to the opinion that it was not his followers from whom he was wanting to extract money, but rather from the ticket sales to his movie. Just how cynical Gahndi was in his approach is open to debate.On the positive side, Gahndi would often tell his followers that he was not who they thought he was. As far as I am concerned Kumaré made a perfectly good guru. He had very sympathetic eyes and was a good listener--would that many a psychiatrist do as well as he. And it is not like Gandhi just flipped a switch to try out his experiment; he researched the field and developed a classic guru look and message. I don't see where he did much harm, and could have done good. The big failings of many gurus is their love of money and sex--recall the antics of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh for example. But, as presented, Kumaré was not eliciting sex nor was he apparently extorting money. If Gahndi set out to make a mockery of gurus, then I don't think he achieved his goal. In fact, after revealing the truth to his followers many of them continued to regard what he had to offer as valuable.I think that what Gahndi proved is how eager many people are to get spiritual guidance and how appreciative they are to find someone who will take them seriously and listen to them. Initially I viewed Kumaré's followers as foolishly gullible, but on further reflection I found their behaviors perfectly understandable. Compared to some of the far out eccentrics Karmaré ran into (like the sect that believed they had come from another planet), Kumaré seemed well within the bounds of believability.