Searching For Sheela Netflix release date: Trailer, cast and plot
ONE figure who shot to fame after featuring in the critically acclaimed documentary Wild Wild Country has a special of her own hitting our screens soon.
Ma Anand Sheela's appearance in Wild Wild Country centred around her role as the spokesperson for controversial spiritual guru Osho Rajnees, while new release Searching For Sheela will focus on how she helped Rajneesh establish Rajneeshpuram, a utopian city for his followers in rural Oregon.
When is Searching For Sheela released on Netflix?
The docu-film includes a lengthy interview with Sheela herself, and will hit screens via Netflix on April 22.
Ma Anand Sheela, who also goes by the name of Sheela Birnstiel, has told viewers of the doc that they will get a glimpse of her “real self” and the evolution of her life over the last four decades.
Who is in Searching For Sheela?
Ma Anand Sheela is the most notable member of cast with no notable cameos, but the film has been directed by Shakun Batra.
Batra has been at the helm of a number of successful Indian films, and has also assisted academy award winner Errol Morris and Emmy award winner Christopher Wilcha during their stints in India.
He directed his very first Bollywood feature film, Ek main aur Ekk tu, at the age of just 28.
Sentenced to 20 years in federal prison but paroled after just 39 months, Sheela served as right-wing Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh's (Osho) second in command throughout the early 1980s, aiding him in the movement of his followers known as the Rajneesh from an ashram in India to Wasco County, Oregon.
Batra said of the film: “’Searching for Sheela’ is a documentary that tries to get a closer look at one of the most sensationalised personalities in India and I am grateful to Netflix for providing us with a platform and a safe space to share her story."
What's the plot for Searching for Sheela?
The official Netflix synopsis of the docu-film reads: "Osho’s controversial and sassy ex-secretary, Ma Anand Sheela returns to India after 34 years of exile and people just can’t get enough of her.
"Searching for Sheela is an intimate look into her journey across India, observing the rebranding of her as a pop-culture icon, with audiences unable to decide if they deem her a "criminal" or remain in awe of her badass secretary days.
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"Sheela, now frail and 70, in the twilight of her life, appears to be seeking redemption, but is she? And if she is, does a world consumed by spectacle allow her the space to?"
Sheela's impact in Wild Wild Country has led to a number of productions being made in her honour, with an Amazon flick also set to depict the life orfthe former personal secretary turned convicted bio-terrorist.
In the Amazon film, Sheela will be played by Priyanka Chopra.
How can I watch the trailer for Searching for Sheela?
The trailer for the docu-film is now available to watch both on Netflix and on YouTube before it's full release on Netflix later this month.
The bio of the film, found alongside the trailer on Netflix, reads: "Journalists and fans await Ma Anand Sheela as the infamous former Rajneesh commune’s spokesperson returns to India after decades for an interview tour."