Yog Yatra is a 90-minute documentary film based on the lives of Baba Ramdev and his close associate, Acharya Balkrishna. Sony TV is the first channel to telecast this biopic on 1st May at 7.30 am, with the repeat telecast at 9.00 am. The biopic is being dubbed in 13 languages and there are talks going on with other channels and to telecast this biopic of Ramdev.
Written and directed by renowned cinematographer, Kavita Chowdhary, the film has Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna playing themselves. Ramdev is the founder of the brand Patanjali while his close aide Balkrishna, who is equally responsible in developing the brand, is designated with post of Managing Director.
What is Yog Yatra all about?
- The film shows how Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balakrishna started their journeys.
- It starts with Ramdev’s childhood and goes on to show how he battled against paralysis. He was born in a family of a poor farmer in Haryana.
- It then shows how he and his friend Balakrishna had made yoga a significant aspect in their lives and the lives of the others.
- The biopic shows how they ended up being ayurvedic and yoga gurus and how they have both created and popularised the Patanjali brand.
- It talks about the ability to cure people with ayurvedic medicines and yoga.
- The documentary-style film of 90 minutes shows explicitly how the two gurus have been carving their own paths, promoting the health benefits of yoga, the uses of ayurvedic and natural products, and how they have both achieved global success.
- The second-half of the film depicts the vision behind Patanjali and markets various consumer products made under Patanjali brand.
- The film also has few musical numbers.
- At the end, the it tries to tell its viewers on how to deal with different phases of life with ease and joy.
- According to director Kavita Chowdhary, this film is a first of its kind as a branded content deal that any global consumer products manufacturer would give an arm for.
Financing the film
The film is produced by Chaudhry’s Kaniveri Films and funded by Patanjali Yogpeeth, Ramdev’s Trust. However, the Trust does not have to pay anything to the channel. Sony TV is going to make its money from advertisements in between.
Objective of Yog Yatra
Acharya Balkrishna said that the main objective behind making the film was to increase awareness about Patanjali. According to marketing analysts, Patanjali has become a challenger to various reputed packaged goods companies. Ramdev said that he has ambitions to make Patanjali larger than many global FMCG companies. Ramdev said at a press conference that in three years’ time, Patanjali will overtake major global companies by the end of 2016. Brokerage IIFL Capital estimated that the sales of Patanjali would increase to Rs.20,000 crore by 2019-20 from Rs.5,000 crore in 2015-16.
Besides promoting brand Patanjali, Ramdev says that the biopic aims to change the life of every person through yoga and ayurveda. He feels that after watching Yog Yatra, more and more people will adopt yoga and ayurveda in their lives. It’s certainly a smart way to market.
