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Mike Myers on The Love Guru
By Fred Topel | Image property of Paramount Pictures
Mike Myers has skewered public access, swinging superspies, New York Jews and German television in his comedy. His latest target is Indian based spirituality. The Love Guru was inspired by his exposure to India on late night TV.
Mike Myers is The Love Guru
"I grew up in Toronto and as long as I can remember, as long as there was cable, even those old cable boxes that were wired to the TV there has been Bollywood movies on Toronto TV," said Myers. "They were on channel 47 and they were on a two o'clock in the morning. I'm an insomniac and I have been since the age of like 11. I'm not a really good sleeper. I used to come home and I can't remember his last name, but it was Rakesh. Rakesh would come on and it would be Indian cinema night and it'd be like at three o'clock in the morning. He would say things like, 'Still awake? This next adventure…' and I would watch it and go, 'Wow. This is just a tapestry.'"
Of course, at 11, Myers did not know he would spend decades developing the character of Guru Pitka on the road, and ultimately write a movie complete with Bollywood dance numbers. Perhaps Indian television inspired all of his work.
"It was so different and ultimately it's Austin Powers. It's all singing, all dancing, very bright color palettes. I didn't know that then because I hadn't written it yet, but I was like this is just a fascinating parallel universe that's going on. I think it's so amazing that I live in a country that views at itself not as a melting pot, but as a salad bowl that has a ministry of multiculturalism and they have a multicultural channel and at two o'clock in the morning I get to see Indian movies. The Indian influence of this movie is that."
The Love Guru
Guru Pitka opens the movie with a popular musical number. It is the sitar version of 9 to 5. "I can't believe that I get to do this. It's unbelievably satisfying to go, 'You know what song I haven't heard in a long time and I love? More Than Words.' 'Alright.' 'That's it? Great. Lets do it. Okay then, 9 to 5 I love.' I've never stopped loving that song. The Joker I loved. [When I performed Pitka on the road], we had a band onstage that played sitar and the tabla, the drums, and they would play 9 to 5 and all these songs before I came out. This is a long time that we've had all these songs, but More Than Words is one of those songs. I love that song."
Myers focused on playing Pitka, but there are glimpses of Myers in other characters, as young Pitka and as himself in a cameo. "I thought that I played three characters in the film: me as the young American and then me as me. So I felt that was enough. I also don't have a personal mandate where I go, 'God, I have to play five characters.' These things are case by case."
The young Pitka scene is Myers' adult head on a child's body. "We wanted the head to be slightly bigger than it should be because it's funny. That's why. That was our measure for everything, whether it was funny or not. I love making comedy. I never stopped loving it. I will continue to love it and I can't believe that I get to do it."
The Love Guru opens to theaters on June 20th.
For the stills, trailers, posters and more movie info, go to the The Love Guru
Movie Page.
Fred Topel
Sources: Image property of Paramount Pictures
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