We couldn’t be more excited for this news if we tried.
When Netflix dropped Wild Wild Country, their documentary about an Oregon sex cult in the Eighties, there was one character whose presence seemed more sinister than all others.
We’re talking about Ma Anand Sheela, the enigmatic Indian businesswoman who took cult leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh’s teachings and turned them into a booming, all-controlling enterprise that, eventually, led to immigration fraud, attempted murder, wire-tapping and bioterrorism.
It was Sheela, Wild Wild Country argued, who was the cunning brains behind this particular outfit. And it was Sheela who largely managed to escape any repercussions, serving just 39 months of her 20-year jail sentence for the 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack, in which more than 700 people were infected with food poisoning, before she moved to Switzerland where she now runs nursing homes.
What was going through Sheela’s brain throughout the course of her involvement with Rajneesh and the cult? What were her motives? What is her life like now? What kind of woman is she?
We will soon get the answer to at least some of these questions, thanks to the news that a biopic of Sheela’s life has been greenlit. Priyanka Chopra confirmed the news to Ellen DeGenere, revealing that she will not only star as Sheela but will produce the film, too.
“We’ve developing it as the character of Sheela, who was this guru who originated from India, [Rajneesh’s] right-hand woman? And she was just devious and created a whole cult in America, brought people here,” Chopra explained. “[The documentary] was amazing, and I’m developing that next for me to star in and produce, which I think would be really cool.”
Chopra is working with the Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson (Rain Man, Wag The Dog) on the movie.
Fans are already excited to see Chopra take on this juicy role of a woman with no qualms about committing serious crimes.
Considering the fact that Chopra has already turned in truly iconic work as a villain opposite Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson in Baywatch, we think this is perfect casting.
Images: Getty
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