After much speculation, Priyanka Chopra is finally all set to begin production on Sheela, a film based on Ma Anand Sheela. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film is being directed by Hollywood veteran, Barry Levinson, and produced by Chopra herself. She had optioned the rights to the character, after she became a viral sensation after the release of Netflix’s Wild Wild Country. Ma Anand Sheela was the right-hand assistant to self-proclaimed godman, Rajneesh.
Primarily accused of a bio-terror attack in the towns of Oregon, to swing local elections, Ma Anand Sheela was charged with infecting 10 local salad bars with salmonella, which led to the food poisoning of an estimated 751 individuals. The incident was considered one of the largest bio-terror attacks to have taken place in US history.
Much like Chopra, there has been plenty of interest around Ma Anand Sheela in Bollywood too. Director Shakun Batra was developing and trying to cast a film around Osho and Ma Anand Sheela for the longest time, with the names of Aamir Khan and Alia Bhatt rumoured to being cast as the film’s two leads. Even Sheela expressed her excitement about Alia Bhatt playing the role of Sheela.
Chopra’s Hollywood career has been in the news recently, after she signed on for an Amazon series to be directed by the Russo brothers – Citadel. Chopra will also be seen in Robert Rodriguez’s We Can Be Heroes, and she will also play a tiny role in the much-anticipated Matrix 4 alongside Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss.
