Plot

A young man leaves India to find fame and fortune in America where he unexpectedly becomes a sex guru.

South Asian Ramu Gupta has always been fascinated with western movie musicals and has wanted to be an American movie star primarily as a dancer. So when he hears from his friend Vijay Rao about his fabulous life in Manhattan with a penthouse apartment and Mercedes, Ramu decides to move from his home in Delhi to the US to live with Vijay as he pursues his dream of being a star. Upon his arrival in Manhattan, Ramu learns that Vijay's life is nothing like he mentioned, he driving a cab and living in a run down cramped top floor apartment with two fellow South Asian roommates, Ramu who would be the fourth in the apartment. Ramu nonetheless just wants a chance to prove himself in the entertainment business. Among Ramu's many missteps include stumbling into the porn movie business where he can't get it up in such a setting anyway, and working as a waiter at least to earn some money. But it is a wait job at a private South Asian themed birthday party for a lost and directionless socialite named Lexi organized by her overbearing mother Chantal that Ramu gets a chance at a somewhat legitimate acting job when he is asked to fill-in at the last minute at the party for an incapacitated Swami Bu. Having no credentials as a swami, he decides to dance and channel the sex advice given to him by Sharonna, one of his porn co-stars. Ramu and the information are a hit, especially with Lexi, who feels she has found her own voice for the first time in her life. As such, she wants to help Ramu spread the swami word, most specifically as a sex guru, to the masses. Not knowing what that word is, Ramu again turns to Sharonna for advice, she in turn believing he is asking solely to further his career in porn. Sharonna agrees to mentor him on the condition that he not divulge what she would teach and tell him to anyone as they are her innermost thoughts as a way to cope with her own life. That life is a double one, where her firefighter fiancé Rusty, a devout Catholic, knows nothing about her being a porn star, believing she is just Shari, an innocent (i.e. virginal) substitute public school teacher. As Ramu becomes more and more successful in this pseudo acting job with the help of both Sharonna and Lexi, he has to reconcile this success with the fact that it is all a lie. He also has to reconcile it with his burgeoning romantic feelings for Sharonna, most specifically reconciling the fact that he has not only lied to her, but betrayed her confidence.—Huggo

Bored with Bollywood movies but fascinated with their Hollywood counterparts from his youth, Ram dreams to become a singer and actor in America, the country where dreams are made. He is encouraged when his American-based close friend, Vijay Rao, comes for visit, and brags about driving a Mercedes and living in a penthouse. The Guptas do their best to talk Ramu out of going to America, but in vain. Ram does travel to America and upon arrival in New York is received by Vijay. This is where Ram will get a shock when he finds out that Vijay works as a waiter in an Indian Restaurant, drives a taxi-cab for a living, has never owned any car, and lives in a small apartment based in a Cinema Theater that hosts Bollywood movies, and his two room-mates are Sanjeev and Amit, one of them an illegal immigrant. Ram gets a job as a waiter in the same restaurant as Vijay, but is fired when he gets into a physical argument with a customer. Thereafter Ram applies for an acting job, only to find out that he is to to star in a porno movie opposite sexy Sharonna. Shortly thereafter the Guptas in India will get the shock of their lives when they get to watch a live television telecast of Ramu, who is now known as the "Sex Guru". What they do not know is that Ramu has been inspired by his porno co-star, Sharonna, who leads a double life.—rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)

Ramu was taken to the movies as a young boy. He was watching a Bollywood dance number in a movie and that did not excite him. He left the auditorium to enter a different movie hall which was playing John Travolta's Grease. Ramu got all excited watching the Western dance number. Ramu grows up to be a Western dance teacher in his own studio called the Shanti Dance and Modern Movement. Ramu's clients are the middle-aged aunties who want to feel young and energetic.

Ramu Gupta (Jimi Mistry) leaves his native city Delhi, India, to seek his fortune in the United States. Ramu hands his classes over to sister Manju Mati from Kerala. He is lured by the exaggerations (red Mercedes and a penthouse villa) of his cousin, Vijay (Emil Marwa), who has already moved to NYC. Ramu's father (Anoop Puri) and mother (Sinia Jane) are not in favor of letting Ramu leave for the US. They say that he is more likely to end up as a waiter or a taxicab driver.

Once in US, Ramu realizes quickly that Vijay has no car and lives in a shared apartment with 2 other guys Sanjiv (Ajay Naidu) & Amit (Charles Singh). Ramu gets a job as a waiter in a restaurant to pay the bills. He is fired for insulting a customer. Ramu is livid at Vijay for lying to him and says that he wants his chance to live the American Dream. Seeking work as an actor, the naive Ramu unknowingly lands a role in a pornographic film with Dwain (Michael McKean), a director of adult films. The name of the film company was Ramrod Productions and even that did not give Ramu a clue. Ramu audition by performing a dance number, but Dwain asks him to remove his pants so he can see the size of his "Jhonson". Ramu finds out on the sets that it's a porno movie and his co-star is a sexy looking Sharonna (Heather Graham).

Ramu is very nervous, since he has never done it on camera, much less with a sexy looking white woman before. Ramu has trouble getting an erection and this holds up the entire shoot. Sharonna gives her some advice to get his mind off sex (your naked body is just your "costume", there is always someone watching, the same God who made the world, made the process of sex as well. And that the most powerful sexual organ is the brain). Now Ramu is thinking about God and hence cannot achieve an erection. Sharonna had to leave to meet her boyfriend Rusty, who does not know that she is a porn star. Sharonna converts into a spectacle wearing teacher, which is what Rusty thinks she is.

That evening he accompanies Vijay and his roommates on a catering job at a society birthday party. When the Indian swami hired to address the party falls into drunken oblivion, Ramu takes his place.

Lacking a real philosophy, he improvises by repeating advice he had been given by Sharonna, an adult film actress he met earlier. Alexandra "Lexi" Hamilton (Marisa Tomei) (Mother Chantal (Christine Baranski), Father Edwin (Ronald Guttman), Brother Lars (Thomas McCarthy)), the birthday girl, is so impressed that she promotes him as a New Age sex guru to her friends. That night Lexi and Ramu have sex.

Lexi gets Ramu more gigs as the "Sex Guru", but Ramu has no new material. He is totally blank. Ramu hires Sharonna, ostensibly for advice on how to be an actor in adult films, though what he really wants is more ideas he could use in his new role as the guru of sex. She agrees and teaches him golden stuff like "sex is a release for fear. when we come, we let go of our fears and touch our souls".

A personal relationship develops between them, though Sharonna is engaged to a firefighter Rusty McGee (Dash Mihok) who thinks she's a substitute schoolteacher. Rusty believes that Sharonna is saving herself for him. Lexi has many wealthy friends who lead unhappy sex lives, and she wants Ramu to help all of them. They pay Ramu a lot of money for his advice in private sessions. Lexi continues to have sex with Ramu, to which her mother objects. But Ramu's teaching improves the sex life between Edwin and Chantal.

Ramu becomes an overnight celebrity, widely known as a spiritual leader - the Guru of Sex. The fame comes at a price, however, and he must choose between his newfound fame and his feelings for Sharonna. Lexi starts to overpower Ramu, and he has to get away from her to spend time with Sharonna, which he enjoys. Sharonna overhears Ramu speaking to Lexi and assumes Lexi is his girlfriend. Lexi signs John Weinstein as Ramu's agent, who gets him a spot on a national TV talk show. Ramu finally gets fed up with Lexi's micro-management of his life and tells her to follow her own dreams.

Meanwhile Sharonna tells Ramu not to do porn and that she only does it for money. She says she is ashamed of not telling Rusty and if he knew, he wouldn't marry her. Ramu says he would, and they kiss. Sharonna meets Rusty's parents Mrs McGee (Anita Gillette) and Mr McGee (Pat McNamara), at a dinner. Sharonna is approached by a couple of her porn fans in front of everyone. Rusty assumes that there is another person who looks like Sharonna. Sharonna is ashamed again and knows she has no future with Rusty. Sharonna rushes to meet Ramu. Ramu was conducting a live workshop with 2000 people and teaching everything that Sharonna taught her. Sharonna is dejected and runs away (after Ramu sees her and tries to stop her).

Ramu realizes he really loves Sharonna. Ramu has a national television appearance where he admits to being a fraud, but passes the torch to Lexi, then hurries across town to stop Sharonna's wedding. At the door to the church Ramu coincides with her fiance's secret gay lover Randy (Bobby Cannavale). They both object to the wedding, being in love with the bride and groom. The film ends with a Bollywood dance number.