(Rated R, 95 mins.)
When a young Indian dance teacher from Delhi named Ramu (Jimi Mistry) moves to New York City in pursuit of fame and fortune, he winds up working at an Indian restaurant. Landing at a socialite’s (Marisa Tomei) birthday party as a caterer changes everything especially when he’s mistaken for a spiritual healer. Suddenly he’s hanging with the who’s who, who can’t figure out he’s a fraud, except for the one woman he falls for (Heather Graham) who knows the source of his seemingly profound insight. And, so the predictable plot goes with the girl or the fame. That is the question. The answer is that the movie tries to be Eddie Murphy in “Coming to America” but isn’t. While it tries a new form of comedy pulling from a culture and combining sitcom (think “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”) this one doesn’t work because Ramu is not true to its beliefs, but instead wants to cash in on his heritage, making the movie a big fat failure.
