It’s long been known that Bikram Choudhury is a total sleazeball, but now the full story behind the cultish origins of his world-famous practice is set to be told.

The founder of Bikram Yoga achieved fame and fortune with his 26 carefully-sequenced positions, performed in sweltering studios, which helped build an empire in the US.

Along the way, he developed a cult-like following, which helped insulate him against some of the heinous crimes he was accused of.

It looks like those days are over, though, and the past few years have seen a number of damning exposés laying waste to his reputation.

Before we get to the new doccie, here’s the Daily Beast:

Through a strategic combination of psychological manipulation and professional intimidation, Bikram made sure that he was viewed by all as a veritable god capable of providing the keys to health, happiness and transcendence.

Moreover, he let it be known that the only way to thrive in his field—and in his coveted presence—was to acquiesce to his whims, be it suffering endurance-test exhaustion and dehydration in his blazing-hot classes, the verbal abuse he dished out in uninhibited bursts, or the ugly advances he made to select women during late-night massage sessions in his home and hotel suites.

An all too familiar story, really.

Sadly, the Eva Orner-directed Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator, doesn’t actually include a sit-down interview with Bikram himself, although that’s understandable when you consider that he’s currently a fugitive who fled the US back in 2016.

Trailer time:

It’s all rather jarring, but then again, so are the latest developments in the case against him:

…the fact that Bikram has held recent teacher seminars in Mexico (2018) and Spain (2019)—and that Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey has yet to file criminal charges against him, despite having six accusers and a wealth of civil-trial evidence at her disposal—speaks to the various ways that individual and legal cowardice, misogyny and self-interest help perpetuate such misconduct; which, in the end, makes Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator not only an eye-opening account of Bikram’s wretchedness, but a vital act of speaking truth to power.

Another powerful bloke with money who’s not being held accountable for his actions. Stop me if you’ve heard this before.

This doccie drops on Netflix tomorrow (November 20).

[source:dailybeast]