Near-empty theatres, viewers split: Yogi biopic finds few takers in UP

A biopic on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has hit theatres.

Ajey: The Untold Story of a Yogi is adapted from Shantanu Gupta’s book The Monk Who Became Chief Minister. Despite a budget of nearly Rs 15 crore, the film has struggled commercially.

To gauge the public response, we attended a screening at Logix Mall in Noida. But there were only six people in the audience, most of them aged above 60. And even they were split in their reactions.

“I don’t fully agree with what’s shown. India is a land of diversity where people of all faiths live. Highlighting one individual through the lens of his religion, as the film’s very title suggests, doesn’t feel right,” said Narendra Kumar, who was in the audience.

But Reena Sharma, another viewer, praised the film and the UP CM’s track record. “Earlier there was fear about visiting Uttar Pradesh, but after Yogi’s government came, that has changed. Law and order has improved and the atmosphere is better.”

Watch.