I purchased this after buying and being very disappointed with a real sitar in the same price range, so here's the opinion of somebody who has experience with both. This thing sounds in the ballpark of what a real sitar sounds like, and comes with the added benefit of ease of use and way more versatility. It is also surprisingly light and compact. The intonation beyond the 12th fret isn't the best, but the range of a real sitar means playing that high doesn't really sound very authentic.
Don't pay too much attention to a lot of the demos online, almost all feature people who don't understand how to get the best out of this instrument and treat it like a novelty guitar. My advice is to tune it to DADGAD or similar, find a tampura drone online, then focus on playing melodies on a single string whilst letting the others ring open, instead of just bashing out chords or riffs, it'll sing.
Very pleased with it. Would buy again.