AceShowbiz - Leading Hindus have given Julia Roberts' new film the thumbs up and hope the movie adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's travel memoir "Eat, Pray, Love" encourages fans to find out more about the religion.

In the film, Roberts, as Gilbert, travels to India as part of a spiritual pilgrimage and learns all about yoga, meditation and life in an ashram. It's believed the actress actually visited the site of Gilbert's spiritual awakening.

U.S. statesman Rajan Zed, who led a campaign to boycott Mike Myers' film flop "The Love Guru" on grounds the movie was offensive to Hindus, insists Roberts' new movie is a film Hindus should support.

He tells WENN, "It will be interesting for movie fans attracted to spirituality and Hinduism to see how Gilbert, played by Roberts, explored spirituality and the art of devotion, adapted to ashram life, and discovered self in Eat, Pray, Love. We wish the film every success."

"I think Indians especially will be anxious to see how perfectly Roberts does her job of cleaning ashram floors as a part of her devotional duty, trying to recite 182-verse Sanskrit chant, and going through gruelling hours of meditation, while being feasted on by mosquitoes."

"Although Gilbert did not disclose the name of the guru or the ashram where she stayed in her book, it is widely guessed that she stayed at Gurudev Siddha Peeth at Ganeshpuri in Maharashtra and her guru was Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, a Siddha guru and follower of Swami Muktananda. Roberts shot at Ashram Harimandir in Haryana, which was founded by ascetic Swami Amardev in 1920. It has its own consecrated temple and gaushala (cow shed) and offers spiritual development and runs a Sanskrit learning centre."