MovieChat Forums > Kumaré (2011) Discussion > I think everyone was just actors feels t...

I think everyone was just actors feels to scripted and comedic

posted 11 years ago by malujj23
9 replies | jump to latest

Is this movie a real documentary?? It just seems like this whole movie is nothing but a mockumentary like the Office or something or did the people really get tricked by this guy?

This movie had the style of Borat but scenes in Borat where filmed with real non actors because Borat Interactions with certain people and their uncomfortable reaction and awkwardness is something you just cant act, also people tried to sue the movie so there was non-actors who got pranked by Borat.

This movie on the other hand the whole movie just feels like its all actors playing the part of pretending to be tricked to make it look like its a documentary. Also their is no where online saying it was a fake documentary or not so I am confused.

Even when the so called "students" had their camera interview session it was all like perfect dialogue people don't talk all eloquent and perfect 24/7. If people are gonna tell or claim "they know there on camera" or whatever still people dont talk all perfect unless its shot several times. Even shows like the Hells Kitchen, Jersey Shore, and The Office the camera interviews feel more like what you expect if a everyday average joe had something to say on the spot when being recorded during a interview.

Anyone got any info about this if this event really happened?

[–] rgiuffcuc 11 years ago

I had the same exact thought after watching this last night. At the end, it states that 4 of the people were very angry and refused to talk to Kumare after the unveiling. Why would these people agree to be in the movie then? Did they sign a release previously that anything on camera would be legally allowable to be shown?

Some of the dialogue seemed to scripted when his followers were being interviewed. I agree that sometimes people act differently when on camera and maybe they did multiple tapes over the course of week, so they could choose the best scenes, but it did seem to perfect. He meets an overweight single mom, a former crack addict, a lonely old man, a death penalty lawyer, etc, etc, etc. It just seemed like some of it might have been real (like the idiotic guy who prayed in front of the Obama/ Kumare/ Bin Laden pics), and some of it or most of the movie did use the help of actors and a loosely written script.

Either way, I though the idea and message of the movie was great and the overall emotions I felt during the viewing was very real and passionate. The message of the movie is great and this is the most important part in my opinion of any film. Whether it was real or not, the concept was done very well.

[–] daddie0 11 years ago

I didn't sense that any of it was made up. Of course I jumped the first premise (one that has been challenged here on the boards) that the film maker was being honest from the beginning.

Furthermore, I would say that if this movie was scripted then it loses much of its power...because it is ultimately about us all...our own weakness, our own potential, and our own faith.

As to the releases, I saw an interview with Vikram Ghandi on Colbert Report where he said they all signed releases before being filmed that they were "going to meet a guru from India who is being filmed for a documentary." So they basically can't go back and protest when that is in fact what they did.

But you may protest, "He's NOT a guru!" and that was the point of the film: not that he isn't, but that we all are, and none more talented or gifted than another.

[–] Ben14-1 11 years ago

This may answer some questions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4vCvOVYyWE

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[–] DisturbedPixie 11 years ago

I have appeared in an interview for a documentary, and I wasn't in it. I was just a kid and they ended up only featuring the most eloquent kid in my class. They took maybe 3 sentences of hers from a 2 hour interview after talking to a bunch of us shortly, and they edited it to make her sound polished.

In a reality show like Jersey Shore, they want these people to play characters of who they are. People who say stupid stuff all the time. In real life, they are not obnoxious all the time.

A filmmaker has to choose what kind of person they show in their film/tv show. In this film, he chose to feature only their more eloquent sentences as to show regular people in a respectful way. Some people only said a few things in the film, maybe because normally they say stupid crap and he didn't want the film to be them just up for public mockery.

I bet that's why no one has been heard of for suing him, because he didn't make anybody look bad. Any of us could have put faith in something ridiculous at one time on our life at least, but that doesn't make us idiots.

[–] tenletters-1 11 years ago

"He didn't make anybody look bad." That's the most redeeming quality of the director and the interview cast as well, no fault, no blame, and no shame in their intentions and actions regardless of final reactions. The nicest con job I've ever seen besides maybe the meter maid fairy in Jackass 1.

[–] MasterSidious 11 years ago

OP is absolutely correct. The entire bit with the "12 Disciples" was fake, and they were all in on it. And the bit where supposedly 4 of the disciples were "mad" and wont talk to Vikram/Kumare was just part of the fake story.

The field-trips that didn't involve the main 12 were probably 'real', in the Borat sense, that the cult and the other fake gurus believed he was "Kumare". Notice, he was a little more slick with them (like drawing a penis on that guy's forehead). But, the 12 main "characters" were fake-as-Hell, and the AUDIENCE that believes otherwise are the real suckers in this big prank.

The biggest give-away is how those scenes were ALL so perfectly shot, with excellent lighting and framing. Note how no time-line for the project is ever given, which is because that portion was shot over a few days, rather than over a few months; which, if you watch it again, you can feel that time that it's trying to insinuate for these relationships to build isn't really happening.

Though the 12 certainly weren't professional actors, they were definitely playing characters...who all had different stories, but were essentially repeating essentially the same script about how they felt about 'Kumare'. They seemed like bored suburbanites who answered a Craigslist ad to be in a film, like the semi-believable fakes you see on Springer and Maury.

It's a somewhat entertaining film, but if you think the whole thing is real, while you're laughing at the poor gullible suckers who believed Kumare was real...they are all laughing at you.

[–] mechafi 11 years ago

That's a possibility, of course, and sometimes it did seem a bit unreal like when some of the people were asking advice on some very personal matters or telling such details like their dad molesting them.

Still, scenes being perfectly shot isn't that suspicious. After all, they claimed to be making a documentary about an Indian guru so of course they could set up all the lightning and stuff perfectly before each take and the interviews were probably rehearsed and maybe re-shot to achieve perfection.