The Mystic Masseur

Name: The Mystic Masseur
Genre: Drama, Comedy

United Kingdom, India, Trinidad and Tobago · 2001
Rated PG · 1h 57m
Director Ismail Merchant
Starring Aasif Mandvi, Albert Laveau, Jimi Mistry, Sanjeev Bhaskar
Genre Drama, Comedy

Circa 1940 in Trinidad, still a British Colony, lives Ganesh Ramseyor, of East Indian origin, along with his wife, Leela. He longs to reach out to people, especially to Hindus, in order to promote the Hindu Faith, and be known as a writer. He does get considerable success, so much so that he becomes famous as a miracle worker, having cured a man of sharing intimacy with his bicycle; prevented a man from believing that he can fly; and convincing a young woman to end her fast. His fame spreads all over the island and thousands throng to seek his blessings, which he does dole out quite benevolently, without charging any fees from the poor and the needy. He then decides to spread his wings by challenging the local politician Pandit Narayan Chandrashekhar alias Cyrus T., and takes over The Hindu Organization, thence opening his way to a seat in the prestigious Member of the Legislative Assembly

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Film Threat by

Occasionally funny, sometimes inspiring, often boring, the magic is minimal in The Mystic Masseur.

Philadelphia Inquirer by Carrie Rickey

A haunting allegory about the rise and fall of a figure who possesses powerful charisma, if weak karma.

Village Voice by Ed Park

Ismail Merchant's screen adaptation retains much of the novel's incident, but fumbles both the humor and moral ambivalence.

New York Daily News by Jami Bernard

There is a very sharp, funny critique of ambition and self-made gurus in The Mystic Masseur, but it is obscured by a softening bloat.

New York Post by Jonathan Foreman

It's only because the performances are so vividly entertaining -- Mandvi and Puri are particularly good -- and the painstakingly reconstructed locations so lovely that the saggier sequences are tolerable.

Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan

The result is an eccentric, amusing fable that moves at an unhurried island pace, a picturesque tale that Merchant seems to have invested with an almost personal sense of spirit.

Baltimore Sun by Michael Sragow

At its best, The Mystic Masseur is like a tall tale that grows more beguiling and credible the taller it gets.

Rolling Stone by Peter Travers

Thanks to the clever, caring touch of director Ismail Merchant, working from a script by Caryl Phillips, this steadily engrossing film captures the book's bracing humor and humanity.

The A.V. Club by Scott Tobias

The Mystic Masseur shows more signs of life than "Cotton Mary," but it's still a producer's movie: attractively mounted, dramatically inert.