From books to series, the many retellings of Asaram Bapu’s story

It has been a season for Asaram retellings. A Delhi court on Friday restrained the publishing of Gunning for the Godman: The True Story Behind Asaram Bapu’s Conviction, published by Harper Collins.

But there is still a web series that can be watched.

The tell-all book apart, the series—Aashram—which is being advertised across billboards in various cities, is certainly loosely inspired by his story. Directed by Prakash Jha, Aashram stars Bobby Deol as a con-man baba.

The show started streaming on August 28 on MX. The storyline has startling parallels to real life story of Asaram—complete with a young girl who acts like a whistleblower. Together with Jha’s own brand of turning news events into a compulsive thriller.

For the moment, however, the tell-all told by the cop who put Asaram behind bars has been put on hold. Sanchita Gupta—Asaram’s close confidant and is a co-accused in the case—filed a civil case arguing that the content would prejudice her appeal pending in Rajasthan court.  A Delhi court in an ex-parte stayed the release of the book as the court was “of the considered view that plaintiff’s reputation is at stake and her reputation would suffer irreparable harm, if the ex parte injunction is not granted, particularly when the said book is to be published 05.09.2020”.

Gupta has been convicted by a court in Rajasthan but her sentence is suspended.

The book is a collaboration between Ajay Lamba, the cop who cracked the case, and writer Sanjeev Mathur.  The book is believed to be the first-hand account of the case that brought down the powerful godman, courtesy a girl who was courageous enough to speak.

Asaram, as the investigation revealed would depend on his confidants, to bring his victims to him. Gupta, is believed to be Shilpi, the warden who arranged for the girls to be taken to his hut. Shiva, his right-hand man, is also part of this chilling conspiracy.

This is not the first time that a book has chosen to expose Asaram’s exploitative and dangerous empire. God of Sin: The Cult, Clout and Downfall of Asaram Bapu, written by Ushinor Majumdar and published by Penguin, was released in December 2018.

Majumdar, a journalist, brings alive the dark world of Asaram, his political clout and an empire built on faith. Rape is not the only crime Asaram has been charged with. He is also accused of murder. Majumdar's book is an expose into his evil empire.

The rights of the book had been bought by Sunil Bohra to be adapted into a film. In a statement released then, Majumdar said: “We've seen a lot on the godman both in print and television. This is the first book of its kind reporting on every aspect of the criminal empire of a bogus godman. I hope that the world now gets to see the story of three courageous women who fought for justice— the gutsy survivor who was a minor when she took on the larger-than-life godman, and two efficient women police officers who exposed father and son for what they are."