Here’s the thing. We were both incredibly excited when Searching for Sheela popped up on our respective Netflix feeds. Needless to say we went in with high expectations. A “where is she now?” follow up to one of the best documentaries of the last decade? An honest and open look at the later life of an incredibly controversial figure? Where do we sign up?
Like you, the both of us first came to know of Ma Anand Sheela from the incredible Netflix documentary Wild Wild Country. By far the most colourful character from the Duplas Brothers’ series, her story was also the most divisive. Osho’s right hand (though some would claim that she was the most powerful person in the Rajneesh religious group) and self-proclaimed empress of Rajneeshpuram, Sheela’s story saw her journey from a young, infatuated sanyasi to a criminal mastermind who was charged with arson, wire-tapping, and attempted murder.
Her story, and its aftermath, has all the ingredients for a great thinkpiece. We had pictured, in our minds, this self-reflective exploration of a controversial life. We were wrong…
Who Is Sheela?
Umapagan Ampikaipakan: Did I miss something? When did Sheela get reconfigured as a feminist icon? I mean, there was always this sense of badassery with how she dealt with the media, and how unapologetic she is for her past, but at which point did she become this underdog figure who fell prey to a scandalous cult and media misinformation? Is this what the opposite of being cancelled looks like?
Bahir Yeusuff: Apparently so. I was already feeling a little squeamish at the description of this documentary being about Sheela doing a talking tour in India. This woman, who (allegedly) tried to poison an entire town?
This feels like an organized effort at rehabilitating her image. Whether or not she knows that is another matter, but all these interviews, all these parties, these talking engagements, this documentary, just feels like someone’s play at changing or fixing the narrative with regards to Sheela. Like you said, to reconfigure her as a feminist icon. Although a part of me doesn’t feel like she wants to be there as much as other people might. She does seem a little reluctant at all these engagements. It does feel like this documentary is being edited to match a narrative. She never really gets asked hard questions by the filmmakers. She never really is alone with the camera. Even the quiet moments are just of her asleep in the back of a car.
UA: I’m not going to sugarcoat it. I hated this documentary. I thought it was absolute garbage. Partly for all the reasons you just outlined. But mostly because it felt like squandered potential.
When I read the synopsis of what this thing was, I thought we might get to see an interesting dichotomy at play between the curated events and the more honest, behind the scenes moments. I had no doubt that the journalists and moderators were going to be fawning over Sheela, but I did expect more insight from the filmmakers. How often do you get this sort of access to such a fascinating figure? How do you waste that opportunity by just pointing the camera at her and doing nothing – absolutely nothing – more?
This movie needed a better documentarian. This movie needed someone who knows how to stay with a subject until they reveal themselves. For better or for worse. Period. (Paging Joshua Oppenheimer!)
BY: So the problem with this documentary is that it isn’t a part of Wild Wild Country. That series, produced by the Duplass Brothers, was well researched, well paced, and well directed. Searching For Sheela was produced by Karan Johar’s production company. I bring that up more as a response to your statement about what this documentary needed, and to answer my assumption about who made this, and why. This film, despite being sold as a documentary tracing the life of Ma Anand Sheela, does nothing of the sort. It waffles, and fawns, and dances around Sheela as she is taken from one swanky party to another. I have learned nothing from having seen this. In fact I learned more about Sheela from Wild Wild Country than I did here.
I didn’t start off writing this being angry, but I’m getting there. As I was watching it, the documentary just washed over me. I’ve seen my fair share of bad documentaries, and this was one of them. But the reason I’m getting a little worked up now is not because Searching for Sheela was bad, but because it is an insult to the genre.
This was no documentary. This was a puff piece put together by a public relations firm.
Did I Do That?
UA: I have a begrudging respect for how remorseless Sheela is. All of the best villains believe that they’re doing the right thing. And have always done the right thing. So I’m not upset that we didn’t get the story of this old woman who now feels regret for her past and is trying to atone for her sins by running a home in Switzerland where she looks after the differently able. I didn’t want that. I’m upset because these 60 minutes didn’t give us any insight into why she remains unapologetic. I’m upset at how haphazardly this thing was edited, cutting away from conversations without rhyme or reason, leaving us hanging with unanswered questions and half finished sentences.
If I was being charitable, I would say that maybe director Shakun Batra was trying to give us some sort of meta commentary on the shifting whims of society and how we can’t differentiate between fame and infamy. Maybe he was trying to show us how blurry the line is between hero and villain.
IF I was being charitable. Which I am not. Because this doesn’t seem to have even an ounce of that kind of cunning.
BY: I still say this was a puff piece. It may not have had grand ambitions of rewriting Ma Anand Sheela’s story, but it sure felt like someone was trying to use it to further their agenda. The way the documentary went from one high class party to the next? How the only time we saw any of the lower class imagery of India was when she went to visit her old home? This felt like a push for politics… or something.
Which is fine. It happens. I’m just surprised that this was what I was watching. There was no deeper story or meaning behind any of this. Ma Anand Sheela was let out of jail for good behaviour. She says she has paid for her crimes, of which she says she hasn’t copped up to. So what are we talking about here?
I am loath to call this a documentary. It’s a well shot home movie. Conversations are oddly cut together. Random bits and pieces here and there. We don’t know the setting. We don’t know the guests. We’re jumping in and out. It was boring. And in hindsight, infuriating.
UA: I know that Amazon Studios has announced a movie with Priyanka Chopra set to play Sheela. Which got me thinking that maybe we need fiction to help fill in some of the blanks. Like how Sorkin got into the head of Zuckerberg. Or how Oliver Stone did with Jim Morrison. Maybe to truly understand Sheela, we need an outside perspective.
BY: Sure, why not? I just don’t know why this exists. I mean, if this was done like the Beastie Boys documentary, that would have worked too. Sheela telling the story of Sheela. How she fell for Osho. How they went to the US. How (or why) she did (or didn’t) do all the things she was accused of. Just do something more than follow her around. Even if the story Sheela tells is false, at least the audience knows where she stands. As for right now, I know just as much as I did before I watched Searching for Sheela!
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