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Photo: ‘Searching For Sheela’/Netflix Little Made Of Lots Netflix’s newest documentary, ‘Searching For Sheela’, follows Ma Anand Sheela, former secretary to Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, founder of the Rajneesh movement in India, who was sentenced to twenty years in United States prison after the 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack as she returns to India for the first time in decades for an interview tour. This documentary comes off the heels of the 2018 true-crime docuseries, ‘Wild Wild Country’, which depicts and recaps the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Ma Anand Sheela, and the Rajneesh movement as well as the 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack. Prior to watching the documentary, I was unfamiliar with the source material and had not seen ‘Wild Wild Country’ which made for me being not the most informed viewer of ‘Searching For Sheela’ so be sure to read my review from that lens and perspective. Related article: Must Watch – Hollywood Insider’s...

Sheela Birnstiel, formerly known as Ma Anand Sheela, or more simply Sheela, emerged as by far the most colorful character in the Duplass Brothers’ “Wild Wild Country” documentary series, released by Netflix in 2018.

While the Rajneesh religious group rose and fell, Sheela’s individual narrative included impassioned entanglements with media and prison time for attempted murder.

Sheela today considers herself absolved. She argues that she’s served her time and, therefore, can no longer be considered a criminal. Her answer to so-called “cancel culture” is to stand her ground and refuse to be canceled.

“I have no explaining to do. People understand me from where they are — from what is their understanding about themselves and their lives, they project it on me. And I have no complaints about it, either,” she tells Variety. “Good, bad, ugly, it makes no difference. I am me. Their opinions will not change me.”

Barely out of her teens,...

Netflix released the first trailer for Searching for Sheela, a feature documentary that catches up with the breakout individual of its smash hit docuseries Wild Wild Country, Ma Anand Sheela. The righthand woman of the controversial Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (Aka Osho), Sheela instantly became the most talked-about character of the series, owing to her alleged part in […]

The post ‘Searching for Sheela’ Trailer: Netflix Documentary Catches Up With ‘Wild Wild Country’ Guru’s Righthand Woman appeared first on /Film.

Netflix released the first official trailer for “Searching for Sheela,” a short feature film follow-up to its smash hit docuseries “Wild Wild Country,” about the controversial Oregon Rajneesh cult and its spiritual leader, Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. The film follows the enigmatic cult leader’s right hand woman, known as Ma Anand Sheela, an intensely devoted follower who instantly became the most compelling and unsettling character in the series. “Searching for Sheela” will capitalize on the fascination with this dangerously charismatic woman.

Here’s the official synopsis provided by Netflix: “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...