A Magia do Guru

The Guru is a classic for its time and the themes it covers are relevant today. The wide-eyed Westerner is fascinated by the sitar and Indian spirituality and ventures upon a quest to understand this better. The movie covers stereotypes both Western and Eastern with scenes shot in England and India. The high point of the film is the superb sitar music of Ustad Vilayat Khan used in lessons and performance scenes.

Of particular interest in the scene when Michael York is being interviewed by the Indian press. He answers the queries to the best of his ability. In some cases he doesn't understand the Indian English , in others, the questions are out of his domain (these he ignores). Utpal Dutt makes a positive impression as the Guru and even finger syncs on the sitar.

I saw this movie on late-night TV years ago; the music was gorgeous as was the photography..the interactions between the young British musician and his guru (teacher) were often amusing, but a scene in which the guru visits his own guru had a lot to say about the role of music in Indian culture and has stuck with me ever since. Of course, it was long ago and I want to see it again. It might be "so so 60's" but so what - it wasn't the 50's or 70's - it was the 60's! People really did dress that way and western young people did flock to India to see why the Beatles were so affected by it.

If you aren't familiar with Indian music, this might get you interested; if you're already a fan, it'll be a treat.

Utpal Dutt is very good as a master sitar player in India who doesn't seem to get much respect or adoration from his own people, but soon finds himself saddled with two British students: a wide-eyed, worshipful young girl interested in musical and spiritual enlightenment, and a carefree pop superstar who doesn't care if he gets enlightened or not. Lots of incredible sitar playing (notice how many different pronunciations of 'sitar' there are!) and mod '60's fashions, but a meandering story that makes all its points within the first half-hour. Dutt is both compelled and repulsed by the pop star's decadent world, and their like-hate relationship becomes a spiritual tug of wills. Michael York, sporting a thick crop of cinnamon-colored hair and talking with a Limey accent, plays the visiting celebrity with a snide kind of casual indifference, which is perfectly right for the character, but it does nothing for the audience and he elicits little interest; Rita Tushingham (reunited with York from 1967's "Smashing Time") overworks her perky nature and large, round eyes, yet her character hasn't been given many dimensions beyond what we are made to quickly sense (that her aimlessness led her to India and what she really needs is a man in her bed). As directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant--who would become long-time partners and filmmakers--"The Guru" isn't bad; the locations are great and there are intermittent bits of satire that are certainly fashionable (for 1969, especially), yet ultimately there is too much ambiance and not enough plot. ** from ****

Aside from the great Indian music in this film, and some noteworthy cinematography, I think the takeaway for me was the study in preconceptions held by the British and Indians about each other.

British perception of Indians: stoic, wise, untouched by materialism. Reality: Indians can be as materialistic, petty and emotional as Westerners.

Indian perception of the British: foolish, intriguing, wasteful, decadent. Reality: The main British character (Tom Pickle) is arguably the wisest character in the film.

I'd recommend this to anyone wanting to learn about a moment in time when East and West began opening up to each other, and learning each others' strengths and weaknesses.

The kind of mistake that James Ivory, Rita Tushingham, Sayeed Jafrey and Michael York would rather forget.

James Ivory is a wonderful director and we have him to thank for many superb films about and featuring India, but this is not one of them. So-oo 60's! Rita Tushingham's eye makeup makes her look like a character in the Peking opera. Just bury this one in the vault and forget about it.