Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator

Title: Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator
Director: Eva Orner
Released: 2019

Plot: Documentary charting the rise and fall of Bikram Choudhury the creator of Hot yoga whose franchise empire hid the much darker side of Choudhury as the documentary looks into the accusations of rape and sexual harassment brought against him.

Review: Going into this documentary I had no clue who Bikram was or his importance in the yoga world much less the allegations against him. Still with the documentary being recommended by Christine over at The Feminine Critique I thought i’d give it a watch, afterall a decent documentary can take essentially take any subject and make it accessible to the newcomer and certainly this is the case here.

Opening with Bikram laying out his legacy especially name dropping celebrity clients like George Harrison, Elvis and President Richard Nixon who he claims his techniques saved Nixon from having to have his leg amputated. He also claims to have invented 26 yoga postures and was forced to retire undefeated from competitve yoga which apparently is also a think….or so we are lead to believe. These claims though are just scratching the surface of the mythos that Bikram has created for himself along with a cult like devotion from his followers who claim that his teachings have helped them achive everything from weight loss to greater achievements within thier own yoga.

Right from the start though Bikram can be best described as looking every bit the sleazy middle aged wannabe ladies man as he struts around in his black speedo and rolex and despite his rapidly balding head still insists on a manbun. At the same time he subjects those who take his classes to sweltering heat as he cranks the heaters up to maximum all while he sits on his little throne with his own personal air-conditioner ensuring that he’s kept cool. Add to this his eccentric teaching style which sees him openly insulting members of his class and even bursting into spontaneous singing all which his followers are happy to dismiss away as being just his personality as the ends justify the bizarre means.

Outside of his classes Bikram is sell himself as the Yogi of Beverly Hills enjoying a celebrity trainer status and wild spending excess which seeing him name dropping and playing the showman as heshows just how wrapped up in his own world he really is much less that he feels that he can just get away with the scandals which the documentary explores with the accusations coming from students attending his 10 week teacher courses with the hope of being able to open their own studios are targeted by him which even more worrying is seemingly known by certain members of his inner circle like his wife who are more than happy to cover up these crimes to ensure they keep the lifestyle they have grown accustomed to.

Split into two halves the first half of the documentary is all about the building of the legend, his legacy and mythos which only perfectly plays into the second half as the truth starts slowly being exposed not only the accusation of sexual harassment and rape but also the numerous claims we have listened to him making through the first half of the film as it strips it all away to expose the truth about who Bikram is all while at this point he is doing his best to worm his way out of being put on trial were it should be noted that he we have someone who is so wrapped up in their own ego that during the pre-trial interviews he can have the balls to state that amongst his personal hates is “Cold Pussy”.

The interviews with his victims are as to be expected uncomfortable viewing while only serving to highlight the cult like atmosphere of the teacher courses as the participants take over a hotel for 10 weeks engaging in extended sessions of yoga with little to no contact with anyone outside of the group. Again it’s this cult like situation which certainly is reinforced by the interviews with former students many of who never knew anything was happening to their fellow students until the accusations became public and even then were quick to turn on anyone who would seemingly be out to discredit their teacher.

Director Eva Orner does a good job of not taking sides and thanks to Bikram’s desire for celebrity here she certainly has plenty of footage to work with and just by presenting the facts Bikram himself does all the work to hang himself while Orner’s reseatch and interviews with fellow journalists share their own research into his past and the truth behind the things he’s claimed only further chip away at the mythos he’s created for himself.

What’s most shocking is how he’s still out there free to continue teaching as the documentary ends with him fleeing the States as we end on a montage of clips from the classes he is teaching in Mexico and Spain. As such we can only hope that this documentary does for his empire what Blackfish did to Seaworld.