Vikram Gandhi is an Indian American documentary filmmaker, producer, actor, and journalist. His works included ''

Kumaré ''Kūmāré'' is a 2011 documentary film directed by and starring American filmmaker Vikram Gandhi, who posed for a time as an Indian guru in Phoenix, Arizona, to satirize the American New Age movement. Synopsis Vikram Gandhi, the child of obser ...

'' (2011), ''Barry'' (2016), ''

Trigger Warning with Killer Mike ''Trigger Warning with Killer Mike'' is an American documentary streaming television series on Netflix. The six-episode first season was released on January 18, 2019. The show, hosted by rapper Killer Mike, explores issues in America that affect t ...

'' (2019), '' 69: The Saga of Danny Hernandez'' (2020)''.''

Biography

Gandhi was born in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and grew up in a Hindu household in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. His parents are Punjabi immigrants from

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

and his father works at the

Columbia Presbyterian Hospital The NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is a nonprofit academic medical center in New York City affiliated with two Ivy League medical schools, Cornell University and Columbia University. The hospital comprises seven distinct campuses located in the New Y ...

. He received his B.A. from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 2000. After college, Gandhi worked as a freelance video journalist and reported on political, economic and human rights issues in Asia for ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

'', ''Time'',

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

and

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

. He also worked as a cinematographer and producer of documentary films and commercials, and his clients included

American Express American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...

Energizer Energizer Holdings, Inc. is an American manufacturer and one of the world's largest manufacturers of batteries, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. It produces batteries under the Energizer, Ray-O-Vac, Varta, and Eveready brand names, and for ...

Yahoo Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo! Inc. (2017–present), Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds ma ...

and

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...

. As a documentary filmmaker, Gandhi covered the emergence of the yoga industry in the US and, inspired by his own skepticism about religious movements, he started his own fake spiritual movement and called himself "Kumare," which is based on his middle name, Kumar. Impersonating a fake Indian guru, he gained a following in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. He filmed his interactions with his devotees and made the 2011 documentary '' Kumare'', which won the SXSW 2011 Audience Award for Best Documentary and was nominated for a 2011 DOC NYC Viewfinders Grand Jury Prize and a 2013 Cinema Eye Audience Choice Prize''.'' Vikram joined

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

's ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...

'' as a producer and correspondent in 2012. In 2016, he directed and produced the Barack Obama biopic ''Barry'', which he describes as a "superhero origin story". He also appeared in '' Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'' as himself. He later produced and directed the Netflix series ''

'' and '' Grass Is Greener''. In 2020, Gandhi reprised his role as Kumare for the comedy series ''The Guru Inside You'' that aired on

First Look Media First Look Media is an American nonprofit media organization founded by Pierre Omidyar in October 2013 as a venue for "original, independent journalism". Overview The project was started as a collaboration with Glenn Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill, ...

's streaming service Topic. He also directed the

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

documentary '' 69: The Saga of Danny Hernandez''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gandhi, Vikram Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American documentary filmmakers Journalists from New Jersey Columbia College (New York) alumni American directors American producers American male actors of Indian descent