Right on the heels of some heated protest to Mike Myers The Love Guru by some Hindu groups, Deepak Chopra has stepped up to try and put out the fires.
he says that the protests are unwarranted. He discusses previous films and their impacts, the importance of comedy in faith, and his own involvement with the film. “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. If I don’t take offense and some Hindus do, that doesn’t make me superior or more mature or even innately tolerant. I just know the difference between a belly laugh and a diatribe.”
John wrote yesterday about this conflict suggesting the difference between a movie that spoofs a culture or a movie that spoofs one rediculous individual from that culture.
My first instinct was that the studios enlisted this respected Indian to offer up an ambassador to throw out the “we didn’t piss him off, so relax” and that he was involved in this film, so his opinions about it could have an impact on its success. But then I looked closer to find that this guy is simply a cameo or minor role where he plays himself and he admits that they take some pretty cheap shots at him. And he thought it was funny.
So as much as I still think this movie will be a stinker, I honestly don’t think the cultural offenses are as drastic as the protesters are implying.
A little good news related to a highly unanticipated film. I am a big Myers fan (hes a good Canadian boy!) and would be disappointed if he was intentionally hurtful with his comedy. He has spoofed other cultures before. It’s practically his trademark. But he has always been a class act.
