"Jai Nirala," the crowd chants, prostrating themselves as he walks over expensive marble floors to his throne. The production design is intentional: this is not a place of renunciation, but of power. Gold-plated deities sit next to modern surveillance cameras. The episode masterfully introduces two contrasting characters who will become the show’s moral compass and its victim.
If you enjoyed the slow-burn tension of "Sacred Games" or the political cynicism of "Narcos," Episode 1 of Aashram is your next addiction. Jai Nirala? More like Jai Manipulation. MX Player Episode Runtime: 48 minutes Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5) – A gripping, uncomfortable start.
But the camera pulls back. We see the ashram’s back office. A computer monitor shows the woman’s medical history. A doctor (secretly on the payroll) whispers to the head priest, "She had a reversible cataract. We scheduled the surgery last week. The Baba will 'heal' her today." aashram season 1 episode 1
Out steps (played with chilling charisma by Bobby Deol). He is not a monk in rags; he is a celebrity in white linen. His hair flows. His sunglasses are polished. His smile is calibrated.
Meanwhile, we meet Satti, a simple young man whose mother is dying of a kidney ailment. Doctors have given up. But Satti believes Baba Nirala can perform a miracle. He sells his only buffalo—his family’s livelihood—to buy a silver throne for the Baba as an offering. The tragedy is immediate: he gives everything for a man who doesn’t even know his name. The Supernatural Business Baba Nirala’s first on-screen "miracle" is a masterclass in manipulation. A blind woman is brought before him. The crowd watches in tears. Baba places his hand on her eyes, mutters a mantra, and— poof —she claims she can see light. "Jai Nirala," the crowd chants, prostrating themselves as
When Prakash Jha’s Aashram premiered on MX Player in 2020, it didn’t just arrive—it erupted. Set against the dust-choked, color-drenched landscapes of a fictional town called Kashipur, the very first episode, serves a potent cocktail of blind faith, political muscle, and raw exploitation.
It’s brutal in its simplicity. Faith is not being nurtured; it is being engineered. No cult survives without political protection. Episode 1 introduces Minister Sundar Lal (Anupriya Goenka) —a tough, pragmatic politician. She visits the ashram not to pray, but to negotiate. She needs the "Baba's" followers as a vote bank in the upcoming elections. In exchange, she offers police protection and a blind eye to the ashram’s land grabs. More like Jai Manipulation
Spoiler Alert: This article contains detailed plot points from Episode 1.