No, we aren’t talking about a fallout between Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Alia Bhatt. In fact, the two happen to be good friends. But, PC has recently announced that her first Hollywood production will have her essaying the role of Ma Anand Sheela, who was the spokesperson of the Osho Movement. On an international talk show, the Quantico actress said, “I am developing a feature with Barry Levinson. He is an iconic American director. We are developing it (from the perspective of) as this character Sheela, who is this guru who originated from India. She was his right-hand woman and she was devious. She created a whole cult in America. He was called Osho. I don’t know if you’ve heard of him. It was amazing. I am developing that next for me to star in and produce. (sic)” Back home, Shakun Batra, too, is developing a script on the same lines. It was reported that the director’s film, which will be released on the digital platform, will have Aamir Khan playing Bhagwan Rajneesh and have Alia as Ma Anand Sheela. When Alia was asked about the same during a recent interview, though she didn’t confirm taking on the part, she didn’t deny it either. While PC’s movie is expected to roll by the end of this year, there are no announcements about Shakun’s next yet. Nonetheless, it’s definitely a clash of content.<doc-sep>Priyanka Chopra on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Priyanka Chopra on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Priyanka Chopra has confirmed developing Netflix’s hit docu-series Wild Wild Country into a feature film, focusing primarily on controversial cult woman Ma Anand Sheela. Apart from acting in it, the Quantico star will also produce the biopic. The actor made the announcement recently on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. As Ellen mentioned about Wild Wild Country, Priyanka said, “Yeah, I am developing a feature film with Barry Levinson. He did Rain Man and he is an iconic American director. And we are developing it as the character of Sheila, who was this guru (Osho) who originated from India, his right-hand woman and she was just devious and created a whole cult in America and brought people here. He was called Osho. I am developing that next for me to star in and produce in which I think would be really cool.” Wild Wild Country was about Osho aka Rajneesh who was an Indian guru whose philosophy was seen as revolutionary by his followers, but for the rest of the world, it was a cult. This six-part documentary series on Netflix showed what happened when the followers of Rajneesh moved to Oregon in the US to build their utopian city, Rajneeshpuram. The star of this show is his second-in-command, his personal secretary Maa Anand Sheela, who ran the entire operation and was later convicted of many crimes. . @PriyankaChopra is developing and starring in a movie about one of the wildest documentaries on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/4LsFiNSLRL — Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) January 30, 2019 On Ellen DeGeneres’ show, Priyanka Chopra also talked about her upcoming rom-com Isn’t It Romantic, which releases on February 13. She received a wedding gift from the host of the show. Ellen gifted PeeCee a portrait where she was ‘just sitting there’ with American singer Nick Jonas and the actor was taking shots. Priyanka and Nick got hitched in December last year.<doc-sep>Priyanka Chopra has some big projects in her kitty currently both in Bollywood and Hollywood. And recently on an international talk show, she revealed details about her next Hollywood project post Isn’t it Romantic. Priyanka is all set to play the character of Osho’s right hand Ma Anand Sheela. Osho was an Indian spiritual guru and philosopher and started a cult. Ma Anand Sheela is an Indian-born American and was the former spokeswoman of the Rajneesh movement and allegedly a multiple convicted attempted murderer. Talking about the project Priyanka said, “I am developing a feature with Barry Levinson. He is an iconic American director. We are developing it (from the perspective of) Sheela who is this guru who originated from India. She was his right-hand woman and she was devious. She created a whole cult in America. He was called Osho. I don’t know if you’ve heard of him. I am developing that next for me to star in and produce." Well, we are super excited to watch Priyanka in this grey avatar, what about you?<doc-sep>Now that Priyanka Chopra has married husband Nick Jonas for the trillionth time (a rough estimate) and returned from her lavish tropical honeymoon, she has some downtime to prepare for her next big role: playing former cult spokesperson and attempted murderer Ma Anand Sheela. While sitting down with Ellen DeGeneres on Wednesday, the Quantico alum revealed that she's indeed signed on to play the real-life cult figure, whose name was abuzz last year when Netflix's Wild Wild Country docuseries reintroduced her infamous legacy to a whole new generation. Sheela was the right-hand woman of self-pronounced Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, aka Osho, who was the leader of the Rajneeshees, a sex-positive cult in rural Oregon in the early 1980s. The stateside arrival of the Rajneeshees rocked the neighboring town of Antelope (population: 40), the state of Oregon, and eventually the entire country, with news coverage digging into the cult's criminal activity, poisonings, and more. "We are developing it as the character Sheela, who was this guru who originated from India," Chopra told DeGeneres of the role. "[She] was his right-hand woman, and she was just devious." After seeing Chopra's work in Quantico (which was recently canceled), Baywatch, and the upcoming Isn't It Romantic, it'll be fun to see her tackle a role as complex as Ma Anand Sheela, who became a fiery, divisive figure due to multiple controversial TV appearances when the popularity of the Rajneeshees was at an all-time height. For instance, Sheela not only managed the gun-heavy sex cult but also helped mastermind a bioterror food poisoning attack, as well as a foiled plot to murder a federal prosecutor who was threatening the cult's way of life. (There are many, many more charges against her, which you can check out by watching Netflix's enthralling doc.) Chopra will not only star as the Indian-born Sheela but also produce the biopic, which is being directed by Rain Man's Barry Levinson. What makes Chopra's involvement even more interesting, though, is the fact that Sheela is alive and well. After escaping imprisonment for her crimes, the 69-year-old now lives in Switzerland managing a nursing home. She even appeared at a Netflix panel last year, telling the crowd, "It was a beautiful life I have lived." See photos of Sheela in action from Wild Wild Country ahead.<doc-sep>
Earlier, on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Priyanka Chopra revealed that she will be starring in Ma Anand Sheela's biopic. She also revealed that the film will be directed by Barry Levinson. Now, the actress has divulged more details about the biopic. According to a report in daily, the actress was quoted as saying, "I have to credit director Barry Levinson for bringing this movie to me. He will be directing the project. He and his producers have been researching on this subject and developing it for the last few years. He approached me to develop it with him. Priyanka first talked about the project on At The Ellen DeGeneres Show. She said, "I am developing a feature with Barry Levinson. He is an iconic American director. We are developing it (from the perspective of) Sheela who is this guru who originated from India. She was his right-hand woman and she was devious. She created a whole cult in America. He was called Osho. I don’t know if you’ve heard of him. I am developing that next for me to star in and produce." Sheela is an Indian-born American-Swiss former spokeswoman of the Rajneesh movement (aka Osho movement) and multiple convicted attempted murderer. As the personal secretary of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Sheela managed the Rajneeshpuram ashram in Wasco County, Oregon, United States. In 1985 she pleaded guilty to attempted murder and assault for her role in the 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack. She was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison and paroled after 39 months. ALSO SEE | Harman Baweja attends ex Priyanka Chopra's Love Story 2018 bash with Nick Jonas