Rise and fall of a controversial Godman

3/5

Nobody really expects when a Nithyananda meme will pop up but every so often, the disgraced guru becomes fodder for internet edits and reaction gifs. When the man says, “so the me resides in this (pointing to himself) as me, that resides in all of that (pointing to his audience) as me,” how can it not be a meme material?

Heavily drenched in narcissism, his proclamations of being an avatar of the ‘Parama shiva’ himself may evoke humour at first but the self-styled godman has been accused of some serious stuff. He was under trial for rape, deception and is even accused of kidnapping children.

Stretched over three episodes, the docuseries ‘My Daughter Joined A Cult’ produced by VICE Studios, explores Nithyananda’s meteoric rise to fame and his many falls.

The documentary includes interviews of ex-devotees, parents who lost their children, journalists, and even Hindu ‘experts’. Through it all, it seems incredulous to learn how well connected the godman really was which eventually led to an escape from the country to his island ‘Kailasa’.

Often going back and forth in the timeline of events, the docuseries tries too hard to build suspense at times, especially when the subject matter is sordid enough by itself. It, however, does a good enough job of establishing why his followers continued to believe him through all the chaos and madness.

The Indian audience is well-versed in his story. It made many headlines back when he was still in his Bidadi ashram. What the documentary does well is it juxtaposes the incredible tale with the reactions that the godman elicits today.

Nithyananda’s blatant narcissism and strange costume and expressions might naturally lend towards humour but they shouldn’t distract us from the serious nature of the allegations against him, the blind faith of his believers, his rejection of the law of the land and how he got away with kidnapping children.