Take a country slathered in spiritual oils (preferably Patanjali ones).
Add, in equal portions, Baba Ramdev’s flaming eyes, billowing hair, unsettling agility, stirring dance-offs and sturdy nuskhas for success. Wait for the oil to get crackling. Add occasional glimpses of the Baba on billboards, reality shows, news channels and yoga shindigs.
Saute the mixture well with spiritual heartstrings.
Wait for the aroma to reach yearning noses.
Serve fresh on a platter – Baba's televised avatar.
Discovery Jeet's biopic 'Swami Ramdev: Ek Sangharsh' has been on air for about a month now, and the TV show keeps you waiting... for all of the above.
Cutting to the chase, a quick look at everything the show, until now, has in store for eager-beavers housing Baba in their hearts:
1) Ramdev hasn't grown up yet. To what you see of him today. And it will take some time, so you will have to sit tight and meditate until then.
2) Junior Baba is a pre-teen/teen now, is terribly loyal to his Gurukul, loves standing up to societal evils, and from the looks of it, doesn't seem like someone who is going to grow up and claim that his yoga can cure a lot of things, including homosexuality.
3) Mostly, the show is anchored on the evil-bad/righteous-good premise now. There is an evil policeman set out to destroy the Gurukul, the righteous Ram Kisan (a young Ramdev) trying to correct all wrongs, the casteist Maharaj in Jr Baba's past, his hapless parents who brave social ignoniminy and more. You get the gist, right?
4) Junior Baba hasn't yet attained enough prowess to be able to contort his body into asanas that will blow your mindhole.
5) The Patanjali empire is still in the far future. Far enough to not be drawn into the narrative yet. So you defintely won't be treated to ayurvedic antidotes to thinning hairlines, erectile dysfunction, not-so-fair skin, unsanskari habits and more.
6) Strangely, without trivialising the show's message, Junior Baba looks nothing like a young Ramdev. Or what you would imagine him to look like. Will puberty hit him with all its endowments as generously as it did his real version?
7) If you're a fan, you are probably going to keep watching. If not, you'd rather watch Baba Ramdev taking down Ranveer Singh in unnerving dance-offs.
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