Aashram Season 1

What BollyAI Thinks

Aashram launched on MX Player on August 28, 2020 - notable as a free-to-stream original at a time when Indian OTT was still largely paywalled. Prakash Jha directed Bobby Deol as Baba Nirala, a self-appointed spiritual leader whose ashram operates as a political patronage machine and a cover for exploitation. NDTV rated it 3 out of 5 stars, praising Jha's ambition and Deol's commitment to the role while noting the series' structural flaws: an episode count that invites padding, and self-censorship that softens the edges of the critique the premise requires. The 6.6 IMDb aggregate across the series reflects audiences registering the gap between a compelling central performance and uneven craft around it. Deol's career rehabilitation angle - this was a genuine second act after years of decline - became inseparable from the show's reception narrative.

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The Room

Standout Episodes

The hours worth arguing about — premieres, finales, and the turning points. BollyAI reads the room episode by episode.

1. E1Episode 17.2

   The premiere establishes Baba Nirala's operation in full: the stagecraft of the darbar, the devotees who surrender judgment along with money, and the political functionaries who need him as much as he needs them. Deol is immediately more present than his career at this point suggested he could be.

   The moment: Nirala's first public appearance as a spiritual figure - the gap between the performer and the performance.