“U.G.” is an exploratory portrait of the life and ideas of U.G. Krishnamurti (1918-2007), the provocative iconoclast who rejected the search for spiritual enlightenment.
Groomed from birth in India to attain enlightenment, U.G. spent the first half of his life on a ruthless quest for self-realization. In 1967, a life-changing transformation brought his search to a sudden end, but it was not the enlightenment he had been searching for. For the next 40 years, seekers and cynics flocked to hear his unique brand of anti-discourse. For some, U.G. was an enlightened man who denied enlightenment existed; for others, he was a charlatan, resentful of the gurus he had followed and desirous for an audience all his own. Set within the context of the modern spiritual quest, “U.G.” is an examination of the search for the Self in the age of home video. Juxtaposing the larger history of the search for enlightenment with U.G.’s personal story, the film confronts the aesthetic implications of portraying a self that may or may not exist.
