Bikram who is he

Yet the film visually synthesizes decades of archival footage with first-person testimony and filmed court depositions into a devastating portrait of an abusive narcissist protected from consequences by his own inflated cult of personality, wealth and professional power within the niche world of hot yoga.

The film, directed by Eva Orner, the Oscar-winning Australian producer of Taxi to the Dark Side, provides direct accounts from former students of sexual harassment and rape by Choudhury at his teacher trainings — twice yearly gatherings held in isolated hotels for nine weeks at a time. Orner pitched and began work on the film in the summer of , just months before the reporting on Harvey Weinstein by Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor for the New York Times and Ronan Farrow by the New Yorker launched a cascade of reporting on rampant workplace harassment and abuse, especially at the hands of powerful men, under the banner of MeToo.

The allegations covered in Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator predate the movement by years, if not decades; two of the main voices in the film, former students of Choudhury and Bikram teachers Larissa Anderson and Sarah Baughn, came forward publicly in All Sections. About Us. B2B Publishing. Business Visionaries. Hot Property. Times Events. Times Store. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options. Sarah Baughn was the first woman to go public with allegations of sexual assault against Bikram Choudhury.

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I can feel myself dying. Another student, Maggie Genthner, alleged that he raped her twice, forcing her legs into yoga postures and laughing at her. Jafa-Bodden says she repeatedly challenged Choudhury on his behaviour, but he simply expected her to make the allegations go away. Jafa-Bodden claims that, on one occasion, Choudhury held a meeting in his presidential suite and encouraged her to join him in bed.

Jafa-Bodden became depressed, which she says has led to ongoing problems with anxiety. She considered leaving the country, but was trapped. I was dependent on Bikram for everything, including my work visa, my apartment, my car. My cellphone was connected to his and my every move was monitored. It would have been very risky to flee without a well-thought-out exit strategy. With no car and little money, she moved with her daughter to a guesthouse until she was able to find a small one-bedroom apartment.

Jafa-Bodden eventually turned to her former adversary, Carla Minnard, the Californian attorney who had subpoenaed her in the Williams lawsuit. The jury unanimously ruled that Jafa-Bodden had been subject to sexual harassment, nonpayment of wages, wrongful dismissal and a number of further charges. In December, with Choudhury refusing to return to the US, the judge ordered that the income from his studio franchises and his intellectual property be handed over to Jafa-Bodden.

Last month, she filed a separate suit against Rajashree, who divorced Choudhury in and remains in the Beverly Hills mansion. To date, there have been no criminal charges brought against Choudhury; all the women are pursuing civil cases. However, he has repeatedly refused to return to the US; last month he violated a court order to complete a video deposition in the Clerkin case.

A few weeks later, his attorney in that case quit , saying Choudhury was no longer cooperating or paying his bills. He said that Bikram had hired new lawyers and would be appealing the verdict in the Jafa-Bodden case. Asumah herself has every reason to leave yoga behind. Her first husband died of a heart attack after taking a yoga class in Ibiza, and she blames Choudhury for the failure of her second marriage.

Yet she has forgiven him.